Sugary drinks linked to global raise in diabetes and heart disease

“This replicates and reinforces what we already know about sugar-sweetened beverages,” he said, “but the findings highlight their solemn costs to health and productivity, especially in Africa and Latin America.”

The study details intriguing patterns of sugary drink consumption. For example, researchers found that men consumed slightly more soda than women. Consumption was higher among well-educated people, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Latin America. And in the Middle East and North Africa, the study found that soda consumption was higher among adults with relatively lower levels of education. South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia have the lowest rates of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes related to sugar consumption. the study found, although the authors noted that the data did not include sugar-sweetened tea and coffee, which are popular in these parts of the world.

Laura Lara-Castor, a nutritional epidemiologist at the University of Washington and another lead author of the Nature study, found that higher consumption rates among educated adults in sub-Saharan Africa reflect, in part, the aspirational lure of cushioned drink brands associated with Western tastes and style — the result of sophisticated and well-financed advertising campaigns conducted by international beverage companies.

“Consuming these drinks is often a sign of status,” she said.

Despite the study’s grim results, Dr. Lara-Castor and the other authors said the data also offered hope. Soda consumption in Latin America and the Caribbean is already starting to decline, thanks in part to policies such as soda taxes, marketing restrictions and packaging labels that aim to educate consumers about the dangers of products high in added sugar. (In the United States, consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages has declined since peaking in 2000, but declines have largely leveled off in recent years.)

More than 80 countries have adopted measures to reduce the consumption of sugary drinks.

Paula Johns, executive director of ACT Health Promotionan advocacy group in Brazil, said the Nature study showed that education alone is not enough to dampen consumers’ enthusiasm for sugary drinks. She said that in recent years, Brazil has adopted a series of policies that are beginning to undermine the nation’s love of ultra-processed foods and sugary drinks. Include better school meal programs, bold warnings on the front of the package and up-to-date excise tax on drinks with added sugar.

“There is no magic bullet,” she said. “But all of these rules taken together lend a hand send a message to society that sugar-sweetened beverages are really bad for your health.”