Women who drink two or more sugary drinks a day, even if they are of normal weight appear to be at increased risk of heart disease and diabetes, according to a new study presented this weekend at the American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions 2011 , which is running 12-16 November in Orlando, Florida. A summary of the study is available for viewing online in the AHA journal Circulation.
Includes drink sugary drinks like soda or carbonated flavored water with added sugar.
Previous studies have examined and found links between sugary drinks and obesity, high levels of blood fats, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. But studies following large populations, ethnic diversity, looking at links with cardiovascular risk factors are scarce.
Lead author Dr. Christina Shay, assistant professor at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City and his colleagues compared middle-aged and older women who consume two or more sugary drinks to women who drank one or less a day.
They found that women who drank two or more drinks a day were significantly more likely to develop larger waists and have deteriorated fasting glucose levels. They were also almost four times more likely to develop high levels of triglycerides, a type of blood fat linked to increased risk of heart disease.
They did not find any such links in men.
Shay said in a press release:
"Women who drank more than two sweetened drinks a day had increased waist size, but not necessarily gain weight. These women also developed high triglyceride levels, and women with normal levels of blood glucose more frequently went from having a low risk to high risk of developing diabetes over time. "
"Most people assume that individuals who consume large amounts of sugary drinks have increased obesity, which in turn increases the risk of heart disease and diabetes. Although this occurs, this study showed that risk factors for heart disease and stroke developed, even when women do not gain weight, "he said.
For the study, Shay and his colleagues examined data from 4166 African-American, Caucasian, Chinese-American and Hispanic adults who took part in the multi-ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). The participants, aged 45 to 84 years, had completed food frequency questionnaires at baseline in 2000-2002.
During the five years of follow up, participants were subjected to three tests that the researchers were able to assess changes in body weight, waist circumference, levels of high density lipoprotein (HDL "good cholesterol"), the levels of low density lipoprotein (LDL "bad") cholesterol, triglycerides, fasting glucose levels and the presence of type 2 diabetes.
