Using dietary survey data, the team of researchers from Harvard University analysed the soft drink habits of 60% of the world’s population. The scientists, who presented their findings last month at an American Heart Association conference in New Orleans, undertook this study in order to determine the global picture of the consumption of sugary drinks, as well the number of deaths from certain diseases.
The researchers calculated that 184,000 deaths each year were associated with sugary drinks. They came to this conclusion after working out how sugary drink consumption affected other aspects of wellness, such as the rates of obesity, as well as examining the number of deaths that occurred as a result of certain chronic, obesity-related diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer. According to the researchers, around 70% of the 184,000 deaths were due to complications involved in type 2 diabetes. This majority figure is concerning, as it indicates that around 133,000 diabetes-related deaths worldwide may have occurred because people consume too many sugary drinks.
The researchers also noted that the deaths related to sugary drinks varied by nation, with Mexico topping the tables. According to the findings, at 318 annual deaths per million adults, the Latin American country had the highest rate of death linked to sugary beverages among the 15 most populated nations, whilst, at the other end of the scale, Japan had the lowest sugary drink-related death rate at 10 yearly deaths per million adults.
Gitanjali M. Singh, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health and lead researcher of the study, commented that the results of the study should encourage real change in how sugary drinks are sold and promoted. ‘Our findings should push policy makers world-wide to make effective policies to reduce consumption of sugary beverages, such as taxation, mass-media campaigns, and reducing availability of these drinks,’ he said.