Sugary drinks linked to global rise in diabetes, heart disease

A new study has shown that the consumption of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages (SSB) globally is responsible for about 340,000 deaths each year from Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

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The study, published in Nature Medicine on Monday, found that sugary drinks were linked to 2.2 million new cases of type 2 diabetes and 1.2 million cases of cardiovascular disease in 2020, with the majority of them occurring in Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.

One in five new type 2 diabetes cases in Sub-Saharan Africa and a quarter of those in Latin America and the Caribbean are attributable to sugary drinks, according to researchers from Tufts University’s School of Nutrition Science and Policy.

The researchers compiled data from 184 countries between 1990 and 2020 globally, regionally and nationally, incorporating data from the Global Dietary Database, jointly stratified by age, sex, educational attainment and urbanicity.

SSB is categorised as a liquid that contains natural or added sweeteners, including various forms of sugars such as brown sugar, corn sweetener, corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, glucose, high-fructose corn syrup, honey, lactose, malt syrup, maltose, molasses, raw sugar, and sucrose.
These may include soft drinks, juices, nectars, sweetened coffee, sweetened tea, energy drinks, and flavoured dairy.

Increased diabetes, cardiovascular cases

In Sub-Saharan Africa, the study found that SSB contributed to more than 21% of all new diabetes cases. In Latin America and the Caribbean, they contributed to nearly 24 per cent of new diabetes cases and more than 11 per cent of new cases of cardiovascular disease.

Colombia, Mexico, and South Africa are countries that have been particularly hard hit. More than 48 per cent of all new diabetes cases and 23 per cent of cardiovascular disease cases in Colombia were attributable to consumption of sugary drinks.

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The study also linked nearly one-third of all new diabetes cases and 13.5 per cent of cardiovascular disease cases in Mexico to sugary drink consumption. In South Africa, 27.6 per cent of new diabetes cases and 14.6 per cent of cardiovascular disease cases were attributable to sugary drink consumption.

Action on sugary drinks consumption

The paper’s senior author and director of Tufts’ Food is Medicine Institute, Dariush Mozaffarian, said SSBs are heavily marketed and sold in low- and middle-income nations.

Mr Mozaffarian, a professor, said that these communities are consuming harmful products and are often less equipped to deal with long-term health consequences.

The author said that as countries develop and incomes rise, sugary drinks will become more accessible and desirable.
“Men are more likely than women to suffer the consequences of sugary drink consumption, as are younger adults compared to their older counterparts,” he said.

The first author of the paper, Laura Lara-Castor, said: “We need urgent, evidence-based interventions to curb consumption of SSB globally before even more lives are shortened by their effects on diabetes and heart disease.”

The study’s authors called for a multi-pronged approach, including public health campaigns, regulation of sugary drink advertising, and taxes on SSB.
They said some countries, including Mexico, have already taken steps in this direction.

READ ALSO: NCDC enhances preparedness on HMPV amid global concerns

Sugary drinks consumption in Nigeria

In Africa, Nigeria boasts of the largest consumer of soft drinks, according to data from Statista, a global analytics firm.
The analysis shows that Nigerians consume 40 million litres of soft drinks yearly.
A 2016 global soft drinks market analysis indicates that Nigeria is the fourth highest consumer of soft drinks in the world, after the United States, China, and Mexico.

As part of efforts to prevent and discourage excessive sugar consumption, the Nigerian government 2021 announced the implementation of an excise tax of N10 per litre on sweetened drinks, which contributes to obesity, diabetes, and other diseases.
There are also reports that the government may increase the tax on sweetened drinks to N20 per litre.