Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and the Global Burden of Type2 Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease

By: Farah Doctor

Reference Paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-024-03345-4

A sugar sweetened beverage. Image generated by AI

Sugar-Sweetened Beverages (SSBs), including artificially sweetened fruit juices, soft drinks and

energy drinks, impose a significant addition to the sugar intake in people’s diets. As their

consumption has been increasing in recent years, the risk of Type 2 diabetes (T2D) and

Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) have also risen greatly. One particular study by Nature examined

the global burden of T2D and CVD to see if it could be attributed to the intake of SSBs across

184 countries between 1990 and 2020.

In 2020, it was found that 2.2 million cases of type 2 diabetes and 1.2 million new cases of

cardiovascular disease were due to the increased intake of SSBs. This accounted for

approximately 10% of all T2D cases and 3% of all CVD cases worldwide, which suggests that

SSBs are a major contributor to the growing health concerns today.

Due to their liquid form, SSBs are easy to consume quickly, and people do not get full as easily.

This causes people to gain weight rapidly and secrete more fructose, which has multiple harmful

effects on the body, such as fat buildup around organs and insulin resistance in the liver and

muscles. The risk factors accelerate atherosclerosis (the clogging of arteries) and plaque

instability (plaque build up which can cause a heart attack or stroke).

The study identified the important trends caused by SSB intake in different demographics. It

found that globally, the number of men affected was greater than the number of women

affected. Furthermore, younger adults had a greater share of the diseases that are attributable

to SSBs than the older population. Additionally, people who had higher education and came

from a better socioeconomic class were more likely to have T2D and CVD than those who

didn’t.

The effects of SSBs also vary widely across countries. The highest impact was observed in

sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean. In Latin America and the

Caribbean, 24% of new T2D and 11% of new CVD cases were linked to SSBs, while in

sub-Saharan Africa 22% of T2D and 10% of CVD cases were attributed to SSB intake.

High-income areas, including North America and Europe, on the other hand, displayed lower

proportional burdens, which was indicative of effective public health initiatives and a decline in

SSB intake.

From 1990 to 2020, the number of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages related disease cases

increased in most areas, with the greatest increase in sub-Saharan Africa. These trends were

due to living in urban locations rather than rural, changing diet and an excess of importance in

marketing of sugary drinks. On the other hand, countries that taxed sugary beverages and

increased awareness about its effects showed a smaller increase in disease rates than that of

most regions.

To conclude, this study explains how SSBs significantly increase the prevalence of T2D and CVD worldwide. These numbers have constantly increased over the last three decades, in

developing nations where dietary changes are made accessible to the people.

Thus, due to the risk of deadly diseases caused by SSBs, their intake should be regulated and

closely monitored.