Drinking two sodas a week enough to up heart disease, diabetes risk

(Representational image)

New Delhi: Just two cans of soda every week is suffiecient enough to increase your risk of heart disease, stroke, hypertension and diabetes, a new research has warned.

According to a report in the Daily Mail, consuming a 12-ounce can of soda raises blood pressure. The study further noted that a small of amount on a weekly basis can increase risk of metabolic syndrome.

Previous studies have associated such drinks with obesity and other health issues, but the growing consumption of these drinks, especially among the youth, has triggered concerns.

For the study, data from 36 studies on people who consumed five or more sugary beverages a week and risk factors of the soda were analysed by researchers.

A 17% decrease in insulin sensitivity was found in those who drank sugary drinks for 10 weeks. Researchers also found a link between the soda, hypertension and heart disease.

“The increased prevalence of cardiometabolic disorders is strongly linked to greater urbanization and the adoption of detrimental lifestyle choices that include sedentary behaviour, smoking and poor dietary preferences," study author Professor Faadiel Essop, of Stellenbosch University in South Africa, told the Daily Mail.

Adding, "For example, excess sugar consumption has surfaced as one of the most prominent global dietary changes during the past few decades and is considered a primary driver of cardiometabolic diseases onset."

Essop has also stressed upon the importance of "public education about the harmful effects of excess consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages".

The findings were originally published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society.