Soft drinks related to metabolic syndrome

There is an increased risk of developing metabolic syndrome in middle-aged adults who regularly drink carbonated soft drinks, even calorie-free ones. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of several cardiovascular risk factors, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, excessive fat around the abdomen and glucose intolerance, a condition in which the body can no longer process sugar in the blood that often precedes diabetes. Relation between soft-drink consumption and metabolic syndrome has been based primarily on the high sugar content. To further evaluate this relationship, researchers at Boston University School of Medicine analysed data accumulated from people participating in the Framingham Heart Study, who were in their mid-50s. They participated in two evaluations between 1998 and 2001 and were free of cardiovascular disease when the study began. In the first analysis, it was found that people who consumed one or more soft drinks per day had a 48 per cent higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome compared to whose who drank less. In the second analysis, people who drank soft drinks had 44 per cent higher risk of metabolic syndrome. Drinking soft drinks also increased the incidence of each component of the metabolic syndrome. Previous studies have shown that consumption of soft drinks is associated with overall dietary behaviour, with a diet high in calories and fat, and low in fibre. However, even after accounting for known risk factors such as diet, smoking and physical activity, the association between soft drink consumption and metabolic syndrome remained statistically significant. Further research is needed to substantiate that drinking soft drinks actually causes metabolic syndrome. But at the same time, middle-aged people should limit the consumption of soft drinks to lower the risk of developing metabolic syndrome and diabetes.