Jun 30, 2015
MUMBAI: Sugary drinks like sodas, energy drinks and sweetened iced tea could be claiming 1.84 lakh lives every year, according to a Tufts University study published in Circulation journal on Monday.

“Many countries in the world have a significant number of deaths occurring from a single dietary factor, sugar-sweetened beverages. It should be a global priority to substantially reduce or eliminate sugar-sweetened beverages from the diet,” a Tufts University press release quoted the study’ s leading author Dariush Mozaffarian as saying.

The report – first ever on the health impact of sugar-sweetened beverages – estimated the number of deaths and disabilities from diabetes, heart disease, and cancers in 2010. The Tufts team defined sugar sweetened beverages as any sugar-sweetened sodas, fruit drinks, sports/energy drinks, sweetened iced teas, or homemade drinks with high sugar content.

Their analysis of deaths in 51 countries showed that sugar-sweetened beverages consumption could have been responsible for approximately 1.33 lakh deaths from diabetes, around 45,000 deaths from cardiovascular disease and 6,450 deaths from cancer. It also found that while less than 1% of Japanese over the age of 65 died due to sugar-related problems, the 30% of the deaths due to sugar in Mexico were of adults younger than 45. Mexico had the highest death rate attributable to sugar-sweetened beverages with an estimated 405 deaths per million adults (24,000 total deaths) and the US ranked second with an estimated 125 deaths per million adults (25,000 total deaths). “About 76 % of the estimated sugar-sweetened beverage-related deaths occurred in low- or middle-income countries,” said the release.