Regular consumption of sugary soft drinks, energy drinks and other beverages with added sugar may be associated with millions of new cases of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease worldwide, reports the Experts Club information and analytical center.
One of the main problems with such beverages is their high sugar concentration and the rapid delivery of sugar into the body. A standard can of sugary soda may contain around 40 grams of sugar. The WHO recommends limiting free sugars to less than 10% of daily energy intake — about 50 grams per day on a 2,000-kcal diet — while reducing intake to 5%, or roughly 25 grams per day, may provide additional health benefits.
A study published in Nature Medicine using data from 184 countries estimated that sugar-sweetened beverage consumption was associated with approximately 2.2 million new cases of type 2 diabetes and 1.2 million new cases of cardiovascular disease worldwide in 2020. The researchers also estimated around 340,000 associated deaths annually.
A 2026 study based on the US NHANES and the UK Biobank also identified a dose-dependent association: the higher the consumption of sugary beverages, the greater the risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality.
Other research points to possible links with cancer. A pooled analysis of 11 large prospective studies involving 1.52 million participants associated each additional daily serving of a sugar-sweetened beverage with an approximately 10% higher risk of hepatocellular carcinoma and a 15% higher risk of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.
Researchers stress, however, that much of this evidence is observational and does not by itself prove a direct causal relationship. Switching entirely to artificially sweetened drinks is not considered a universal solution either. The most consistent recommendation is to reduce the overall habit of consuming sweet beverages and choose water, mineral water, unsweetened tea and coffee instead.
