AP: Soda May Increase Female Diabetes Risk

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> Soda May Increase Female Diabetes Risk

> Tue Jun 8,11:58 AM ET

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> By MIKE BRANOM, Associated Press Writer

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> ORLANDO, Florida - Chugging more than one sugar-sweetened soft drink a

> day appears to significantly increase a woman's chances of developing

> diabetes, says a Harvard study that found the extra sugar does more

> than just add pounds.

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> Women in the study who drank at least one sugar-sweetened soda a day

> were 85 percent more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who

> drank less, said Matthias B. Schulze, who presented the Harvard School

> of Public Health research at the American Diabetes Association's 64th

> scientific sessions.

>

> In addition to the sodas' excess calories, their large amount of

> rapidly absorbable sugars could contribute to obesity and a greater

> risk of diabetes, said Schulze, a postdoctorate student from Germany.

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> " It's not that sugar everywhere is important, but it seems that sugar

> specifically in liquid foods may be relevant, " Schulze said. " So, sodas

> and other energy-providing drinks may lead to an overconsumption of

> energy that would lead to obesity and weight gain. "

>

> Diet sodas with sugar substitutes, however, did not increase the

> chances of developing diabetes, Schulze said. He added that the women

> who drank diet sodas tended to lose weight.

>

> Diabetes is an illness that develops, often in middle age, when a body

> loses the ability to turn blood sugar into energy. There were 18.2

> million Americans — 6.3 percent of the population — with diabetes in

> 2002, and it is the nation's fifth-deadliest disease, says the American

> Diabetes Association.

>

> Worse yet, diabetes is a growing problem. The prevalence of diabetes

> was fairly flat during the 1980s, but nearly doubled from 1990 to 2002.

>

> According to Schulze's study, the women most prone to gaining weight

> had increased their consumption of sugary soft drinks from less than

> one a week to more than one a day. On average, those women gained 9-10

> pounds in a four-year period. But women who cut their intake of soft

> drinks gained an average of 3 pounds or less.

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> The research followed more than 91,000 adult women over an eight-year

> period. It is part of the Nurses Health Study at Boston's Brigham and

> Women's Hospital.

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> The research comes two months after the release of a British study

> showing school programs that discouraged drinking sodas appeared to be

> effective in reducing obesity among children.

>

> Mike sen, executive director for the Center for Science in the

> Public Interest consumer advocacy group, said he wasn't surprised by

> the study's findings — but he was pleased.

>

> " It provides ammunition for education efforts, labeling changes and

> restricting soft drink consumption in schools, " sen said.

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> The National Soft Drink Association labeled the study as " unconvincing

> and inconclusive, " because it has yet to be peer-reviewed and raises

> questions over factors that could create inaccuracies.

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> Schulze acknowledged the study's limitations in that its data came

> from observations, such as body weight the women themselves reported.

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