New Study Concludes That Sugary Drinks Increase Cancer Risk

A new study has found that sugary drinks lead to a higher chance of developing cancer.

A research group in France discovered that only 3.3 ounces of fruit juice or soda a day leads to an 18 percent increased risk of cancer and a 22 percent increased risk of breast cancer.

The study was published last Wednesday in the BMJ medical journal. The study followed more than 100,000 adults over the age of 42 for nine years. The majority of the participants, seventy-nine percent, were women.

Ninety-seven sugary drinks and twelve beverages that were artificially sweetened were tracked. The drinks included were: soda, sports drinks, energy drinks, and 100 percent fruit juices with no added sugar.

The tracked participants completed two 24-hour online dietary questionnaires. The questionnaires calculated their consumption of the tracked beverages each day.

Researchers measured the consumption of sugary drinks each day against those who consumed diet beverages. They compared them to the occurrence of cancer cases in the medical records of participants.

Almost 2,200 participants were diagnosed with cancer. The participants’ average age was 59.

The study does not conclude that sugar causes cancer, but they do recommend a person limit their daily intake of sugary drinks.

“As usual with nutrition, the idea is not to avoid foods, just to balance the intake,” said Dr. Mathilde Touvier, who led the study.

“The recommendation from several public health agencies is to consume less than one drink per day. If you consume from time to time a sugary drink it won’t be a problem, but if you drink at least one glass a day it can raise the risk of several diseases – here, maybe cancer, but also with a high level of evidence, cardiometabolic diseases.”