Strong evidence indicates that sugar-sweetened soft drinks contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes. The Nurses' Health Study explored this connection by following the health of more than 90,000 women for eight years. The nurses who said they had one or more servings a day of a sugar-sweetened soft drink or fruit punch were nearly twice as likely to have developed type 2 diabetes during the study than those who rarely had these beverages. (1)
References
1. Schulze MB, Manson JE, Ludwig DS, Colditz GA, Stampfer MJ, Willett WC, Hu FB. Sugar-sweetened beverages, weight gain, and incidence of type 2 diabetes in young and middle-aged women. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2004; 292:927-934.
