Sugary drinks cause ‘200,000 deaths every year’

Sugary soft drinks could be causing almost 200,000 deaths a year, a study has found.

Researchers used data from a major investigation of global disease to calculate the death toll associated with consumption of sodas and other sweetened drinks.

They linked the drinks to 133,000 deaths from diabetes, 44,000 from heart disease and 6,000 from cancer. The majority, 78 per cent, of the deaths occurred in low and middle-income countries rather than rich countries.

Although a causal link cannot be proved, sugar-sweetened drinks are known to contribute to excess body weight which in turn increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease and some cancers. The scientists based their findings on information collected as part of the 2010 Global Burden of Diseases study.

Of nine world regions, Latin America and the Caribbean had the highest number of diabetes deaths linked to soft drinks. East and central Russia had the largest number of heart disease deaths.

Mexico, which has one of the highest levels of sugary drink consumption in the world, had the greatest death rate. In Mexico, 318 deaths per million adults each year were associated with sugar-sweetened drinks.

Japan had the lowest death rate, just ten per million adults.

The findings were presented at an American Heart Association meeting in New Orleans.