Everyone loves a refreshing soda at just the right time. Everyone also knows it is not the healthiest of beverages. But exactly how unhealthy is soda? What are the health risks of drinking soda every day many times a day? New research suggests that frequent consumption of soft drinks (which include soda, energy drinks, and other sugary drinks) is linked to a greater chance of dying from health problems. It was already known that frequently drinking soft drinks is related to weight gain, Type 2 diabetes, and heart issues (1,2,3). However, this week’s study (4) combines data from several studies to get a better look at the mortality risk of having soft drinks daily.

The study combined data from 14 other studies which together included a whopping 1.2 million people. The studies involved checking in with people at multiple points in time over several years. At each check in, the researchers recorded the number of soft drinks people consumed per day, any health issues they experience, if each person is still living or had died, and if they died, what their cause of death was. The researchers then used this data to see if the amount of soft drinks people consumed was related to their risk of dying from health issues.

The researchers found that people who consumed large amounts of soft drinks on the daily had a 12% greater risk of dying from health problems. It was also found that the people who frequently consumed soft drinks had a 20% greater risk of dying from heart disease. The same risk was present for people who drank artificially sweetened soft drinks like diet sodas. In addition, these risks remained even after accounting for peoples’ BMI, age, exercise habits, dieting habits, and smoking and drinking habits. So even people who exercise and eat healthy are still at risk for dying young if they drink a lot of soft drinks.

While soda and fruit punch are delicious, research suggests that you should not be drinking these beverages every day. It is best to only have soda on occasion as a special treat. If you reduce the amount of sugary beverages you have, it could help you live longer and healthier. If you need ideas for alternatives for soft drinks that are tasty and energizing, follow the Bridgeport Health Department on Facebook. The CDC has a list of options at Rethink Your Drink.

Mortality Risk – mortality risk is the risk of dying earlier than expected. For example, smoking cigarettes raises your mortality risk because they make it more likely that you will die young.

1. De Koning, L., Malik, V. S., Kellogg, M. D., Rimm, E. B., Willett, W. C., & Hu, F. B. (2012). Sweetened beverage consumption, incident coronary heart disease, and biomarkers of risk in men. Circulation, 125(14), 1735-1741.
2. Imamura, F., O’Connor, L., Ye, Z., Mursu, J., Hayashino, Y., Bhupathiraju, S. N., & Forouhi, N. G. (2015). Consumption of sugar sweetened beverages, artificially sweetened beverages, and fruit juice and incidence of type 2 diabetes: systematic review, meta-analysis, and estimation of population attributable fraction. Bmj, 351.
3. Li, H., Liang, H., Yang, H., Zhang, X., Ding, X., Zhang, R., ... & Sun, T. (2022). Association between intake of sweetened beverages with all-cause and cause-specific mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Public Health, 44(3), 516-526.
4. Malik, V. S., Willett, W. C., & Hu, F. B. (2013). Global obesity: trends, risk factors and policy implications. Nature Reviews Endocrinology, 9(1), 13-27.