Sugar-sweetened drinks linked to type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome
What it found
People who drank the most sugar-sweetened beverages had a 26% higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes and a 20% higher risk of metabolic syndrome compared with those who drank the least.
The findings come from 11 studies that followed adults over time.
What they found
Studies in people
Type 2 diabetes risk
People with the highest intake of sugar-sweetened beverages (most often 1 to 2 servings a day) had a 26% greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes than those with the lowest intake (none or less than 1 serving a month).
Metabolic syndrome risk
Among studies on metabolic syndrome, those with the highest intake had a 20% greater risk of developing the condition compared with those with the lowest intake.
Dose-response for diabetes
Each additional 12-ounce serving of sugar-sweetened beverage per day was linked to a 25% higher risk of type 2 diabetes in one analysis.
Other findings
Weight and obesity
The authors note that sugar-sweetened drinks are thought to lead to weight gain because of their high sugar content and because liquid calories are not fully compensated for at later meals.
Possible mechanisms
The drinks may raise risk not only through obesity but also by increasing dietary glycemic load, leading to insulin resistance, beta-cell dysfunction, and inflammation. Fructose, a component of both sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup, may have particularly adverse metabolic effects.
What the authors conclude
“These data provide empirical evidence that intake of SSBs should be limited to reduce obesity-related risk of chronic metabolic diseases.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that higher consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages is associated with development of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.
- They advise that intake of these beverages should be limited to reduce obesity-related risk of chronic metabolic diseases.
- They support limiting consumption of these beverages in place of healthy alternatives such as water.
How it was done
Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages has risen worldwide, and regular intake has been linked to weight gain and obesity. The authors wanted to summarize the evidence on whether these drinks also raise the risk of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.
The authors pooled 11 prospective cohort studies: three on metabolic syndrome (19,431 participants, 5,803 cases) and eight on type 2 diabetes (310,819 participants, 15,043 cases). These studies followed adults in the U.S., Finland, and Singapore for 4 to 20 years, comparing the highest versus lowest intake of sugar-sweetened beverages.
What it can’t tell you
- These studies followed people over time, so they can show a link between sugar-sweetened drinks and these conditions, but they cannot prove that the drinks cause them.
- The authors note that leftover confounding by unmeasured diet and lifestyle factors could overestimate the strength of the link.
- The studies compared only the highest with the lowest intake categories, so they cannot show what happens at middle levels of consumption.
Who paid
- Funding
- Funded by NIEHS NIH HHS; NICHD NIH HHS (from the PubMed record).
- Authors work at
- Brigham and Women's Hospital, USA
The paper
- Title
- Sugar-sweetened beverages and risk of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes: a meta-analysis
- Type
- Meta-analysis
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Malik VS, Popkin BM, Bray GA, Després JP, Willett WC, Hu FB (2010). Sugar-sweetened beverages and risk of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes: a meta-analysis. Diabetes care. doi:10.2337/dc10-1079Free full textPubMed 20693348DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error