Sugar-Sweetened Soft Drinks Contribute Significantly to Weight Gain

Three New England Journal of Medicine studies on the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages suggest that the drinks have an important role in the risk for obesity.

One study, in a large cohort of initially nonobese adults, looked at patterns of drink consumption and their relation to subjects' genetic predisposition to obesity. Researchers found that incident obesity increased with increasing drink consumption within the same level of genetic risk; similarly, obesity increased with increasing genetic risk within the same level of consumption.

Two other studies examined the effects of replacing sugar-sweetened drinks with sugar-free drinks, one in normal-weight children and the other in adolescents who were overweight or obese. Among normal-weight children, those randomized to one masked sugar-free drink/day for 18 months gained significantly less weight and body fat, compared with those randomized to a sugar-containing drink. Among overweight adolescents, a 1-year intervention aimed at reducing sugary drink consumption lowered gains in BMI at 1 year, but not at 2 years, relative to controls.

An editorialist says that the studies "provide a strong impetus to develop recommendations and policy decisions to limit consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages.