Lots of research shows that sugary soft drinks contribute to weight gain, but your wellbeing could also be at risk in the knee department. A new study has revealed that sugary soft drink consumption may also increase the progression of your knee osteoarthritis, especially if you’re a man, and, interestingly, if you have a low Body Mass Index, or BMI.
Knee osteoarthritis (OA) occurs when the cartilage in your knee joint breaks down. You’re more at risk to it depending on your weight, age, prior knee injuries, joint stress and family history.
Medical researchers from Boston and Rhode Island looked at the data of 2149 participants in a multi-centre osteoarthritis study. Each participant was given a food frequency questionnaire to measure their soft-drink consumption, not including sugar-free drinks, and their OA progression and BMI were measured yearly for the next four years.
The results were that men who drank more soft drinks per week had the worst OA progression, and this was particularly bad for men with lower BMI. Only women in the lowest BMI group indicated a link between soft drink consumption and OA progression.
The researchers presented their findings at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. and concluded that men who drink progressively more soft drinks each week may also see their knee OA worsen progressively. Bing Lu, MD, DrPh, was the lead investigator in the study and said ‘This study may offer the potential to identify a modifiable dietary risk factor for disease progression, enable evaluation of prevailing recommendations of healthy diet, and thus have potential public health implications.’
The study did not show, however, whether other soft drink ingredients contribute to OA progression, or if it was simply a matter of the high calorie content leading to a burden of excess weight on the knees.
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