Consuming too much sugar may increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. A study that examined the rates of type 2 diabetes in 175 countries has revealed that the increased availability of sugar in food is linked to higher rates of the blood disorder.
The risk of developing type 2 diabetes is typically associated with obesity and until now there has been no evidence that any particular product is at fault. The American study is the first to provide evidence that sugar may have a direct link to diabetes, although the research team – from Stanford University School of Medicine, the University of California-Berkeley and the University of California-San Francisco – have insisted that their work is not concrete proof that sugar is the cause of diabetes.
What their research did reveal is that for every additional 150 calories of sugar available to people that the incidences of type 2 diabetes rose by 1%. A typical can of soda will contain 150 calories of sugar. However, an extra 150 calories of any other type only contributed to a 0.1% rise in a country’s rate of diabetes.
The research also showed that the longer a population has access to more sugar, the higher its rate of diabetes will be with those rates dropping whenever sugar becomes less available.
The study concluded that obesity and total calorie intake are not the only factors involved in the development of diabetes with sugar clearly playing a significant role.
The next stage of research into the association of excess sugar with type 2 diabetes is likely to explore any links between diabetes and sugar sources such as sucrose or corn syrup, and into the effects of sodas and processed foods, both of which have high sugar contents. Clinical trials may also be necessary with participants placed on low-sugar diets to test if this reduces the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
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