Here’s today’s not-at-all-shocking-but-still-soul-crushing news: Sugary drinks kill 180,000 people per year. The high-fructose-laced findings were the result of a global study conducted by Tufts University in 2013, and published this month in the American Heart Association’s Circulation Journal. It was the first comprehensive assessment of worldwide deaths attributable to sugar-sweetened beverages.
Lead by Dariush Mozaffarian, dean of Tufts’ Friedman School of Nutrition Science Policy, researchers estimated the consumption of sugary beverages by studying 62 dietary surveys of 611,971 people spanning 1980 to 2010. They also looked at such other statistics as the national availability of sugar in 187 countries. The globe-spanning study’s parameters made it possible for researchers to look at the numbers across a variety of locations, genders and ages.
Researchers defined the studied beverages as “any sugar-sweetened sodas, fruit drinks, sports/energy drinks, sweetened iced teas or home sugary drinks such as frescas, that contained at least 50 kcal per 8oz serving,†as was reported in Tufts Now, the university’s campus paper. One hundred percent fruit juice was excluded. Once the data was pulled in, researchers calculated the direct impact they had on diabetes and “the obesity related effects on cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer.â€
In 2010, it was estimated that the worldwide chugging of sugar-loaded beverages likely led to roughly 133,000 deaths from diabetes, 45,000 deaths from heart disease and 6,450 deaths from cancer. Speaking about the results, Mozaffarian’s frustration with our sucrose-dependency was obvious:
“Some population dietary changes, such as increasing fruits and vegetables, can be challenging due to agriculture, costs, storage, and other complexities. This is not complicated. There are no health benefits from sugar-sweetened beverages, and the potential impact of reducing consumption is saving tens of thousands of deaths each year,†Mozaffarian said.
Broken down, the results, according to Tufts Now, showed that Mexico had the highest sugar-sweetened beverage death rate, with roughly 405 deaths per million adults (24,000 total). The ever-chunkified United States placed second with an estimated 125 deaths per million adults (25,000 total). Mexico’s first-place finish is a direct result of the national love for homemade sugary drinks as well as the availability of sugar-sweetened store bought beverages.
Researchers also noted concerns about the habits of younger adults, as they had a higher percent of these beverages than adults.
The study confirms what Michael Bloomberg and every other anti-Big Gulper already knew: Sodas and sweetened drinks, when consumed regularly, are nothing more than a form of long-term suicide. The biggest surprise here is that the number isn’t larger.
— Matt Berical