A study from researchers at the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University has estimated that 2.2m new cases of type 2 diabetes and 1.2m new cases of cardiovascular disease occur each year globally due to consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages.

Sugary beverages are rapidly digested, causing a spike in blood sugar levels with little nutritional value. Regular consumption over time leads to weight gain, insulin resistance, and a host of metabolic issues tied to type 2 diabetes and heart disease, two of the world’s leading causes of death.

The research revealed that in Sub-Saharan Africa, sugar-sweetened beverages contributed to more than 21 per cent of all new diabetes cases. In Latin America and the Caribbean, they contributed to nearly 24 per cent of new diabetes cases and more than 11 per cent of new cases of cardiovascular disease.

Furthermore, more than 48 per cent of all new diabetes cases in Colombia were attributable to consumption of sugary drinks. Nearly one third of all new diabetes cases in Mexico were linked to sugary drink consumption. While in South Africa, 27.6 per cent of new diabetes cases and 14.6 per cent of cardiovascular disease cases were attributable to sugary drink consumption.

Dariush Mozaffarian, senior author and director of the Food is Medicine Institute at the Friedman School, said, “Sugar-sweetened beverages are heavily marketed and sold in low and middle-income nations. Not only are these communities consuming harmful products, but they are also often less well equipped to deal with the long-term health consequences.”

The authors said that as countries develop and incomes rise, sugary drinks become more accessible and desirable. According to the researchers, men are more likely than women to suffer the consequences of sugary drink consumption, as are younger adults compared to their older counterparts.

Laura Lara-Castor, first author on the paper, said, “We need urgent, evidence-based interventions to curb consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages globally, before even more lives are shortened by their effects on diabetes and heart disease.”

The study’s authors have called for a multi-pronged approach, including public health campaigns, regulation of sugary drink advertising, and taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages.

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