Sweet drinks 'associated with diabetes'

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LONDON: People who regularly consumer sugary drinks could be increasing their chances of developing type 2 diabetes.

This is according to a recent study published in the journal Diabetes Care.

The research found that regular consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages resulted in a "consistently greater risk of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes".

Conducted by scientists from Harvard School of Public Health, the study claims to be the first meta-analysis to quantitatively review the evidence linking the two factors.

Vasanti Malik, lead author and research fellow at Harvard's Department of Nutrition, commented: "Many previous studies have examined the relationship between sugar-sweetened beverages and risk of diabetes, and most have found positive associations but our study, which is a pooled analysis of the available studies, provides an overall picture of the magnitude of risk and the consistency of the evidence."

Drinking large amounts of sugary drinks has previously been associated with obesity and weight gain.