Sugary drinks promote weight gain, diabetes, more than sugary food
The consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages has been found to add to calorie intake and body weight, compared to sugary food items, according to research from the University of Aberdeen, UK, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, China.
The study of mice, over 2 months, showed that added sugar in their drink represented 73% of their dietary calories and these mice still consumed more calories, put on more weight, and increased their body fat.The mice that had increased body fat from drinking liquid sucrose also had lower tolerance to glucose and sensitivity to insulin, both of which are markers of raised diabetes risk.
In contrast, the mice that had the same level of added sucrose in their food pellets but drank plain water “were leaner and metabolically healthier” than their counterparts.
The researchers suggest that the findings point to liquid sucrose adding to total calorie intake, as opposed to the same sugar composition in solid form. It also suggests that some people may not compensate their carbohydrate intake in liquid form by reducing the amount consumed in solid form.
“These data supports the suggested role of sugar-sweetened beverages in the development of diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance.”
Sugar-sweetened drinks, including soda, energy, and sports drinks, contribute greatly to the average American diet. A National Cancer Institute (NCI) report revealed that the average US adult consumes 21 teaspoons of added sugar daily, and that sugar-sweetened drinks accounted for more than 35.7% of the daily calorie intake.
Professor John R. Speakman, of the University of Aberdeen, said the recent concern over the intake of sugary drinks may, therefore, be justified if humans indeed respond to sugar in the same way as mice. At the same time, Professor Gunter Kuhnle,at UK’s University of Reading, draws attention to the fact that research in mice does not always translate to humans, and while the study subjected the mice to more sucrose than currently present in many drinks, “there is a need for better understanding of excess food intake and how they can be modified.”
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