According to three separate reports published in the July issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, drinking more sugar-sweetened drinks and eating less fruit and vegetables could both increase type 2 diabetes risk. However, eating a low fat diet may not have any impact on diabetes risk, the researchers claimed.
The team drew on research involving over 40,000 women, who completed questionnaires about the type of food and drinks that they consumed. The respondents were followed up over a ten year period.
The research team reportedly commented: “Our study suggests that the mechanism for the increase in diabetes risk associated with soft drink consumption is primarily through increased weight . Reducing consumption of soft drinks or switching from sugar-sweetened soft drinks to diet soft drinks is a concrete step that women may find easier to achieve than other approaches to weight loss .”
They reportedly concluded: “Finally, it should be noted that consumption of fruit drinks conveyed as high an increase in risk as did consumption of soft drinks. Fruit drinks typically contain as many or more calories compared with soft drinks and, like soft drinks, may not decrease satiety to the same extent as solid food. The public should be made aware that these drinks are not a healthy alternative to soft drinks with regard to risk of type 2 diabetes .”

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