Sugar-sweetened beverages contribute to 2.2 million new cases of type 2 diabetes and 1.2 million new cases of cardiovascular disease each year, latest data has demonstrated.

A recent study from Tufts University has found that sugary drinks are responsible for nearly a quarter of all new type 2 diabetes cases in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America.

Nearly 50% of new type 2 diabetes cases in Colombia and one-third in Mexico were associated with a high intake of sugar-sweetened drinks, the results have reported.

Blood sugar levels are raised by the rapid digestion of sugary drinks. Frequently drinking sugary beverages is associated with weight gain and insulin resistance, as well as a range of metabolic complications linked with heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

Lead author Dariush Mozaffarian 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.”

Males are more at risk of experiencing the negative effects associated with sugary drinks compared to females, according to the findings.

Corresponding author Laura Lara-Castor 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.”

A sugary drinks tax was implemented in Mexico in 2014. This tax has reduced the sugary drinks intake among people living in the country, especially those with lower incomes.

Dariush Mozaffarian said: “Much more needs to be done, especially in countries in Latin America and Africa where consumption is high and the health consequences severe. As a species, we need to address sugar-sweetened beverage consumption.”

Read the full study in the journal Nature Medicine.

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