The prevalence of type 2 diabetes is increasing rapidly in Asia. Such increase could be partly explained by the increased consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages. The aim of this study was to examine the nature of the association between consumption of soft drinks and juices and the risk of incident type 2 diabetes. The study cohort was derived from the Singapore Chinese Health Study, a population-based prospective cohort study of over 43,580 Chinese men and women aged 45-74 years and free of diabetes at baseline. Among the study subjects, 2,273 participants developed diabetes during follow-up. The analysis concluded with a positive association between soft drink and juice consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes which was independent of body mass index or of body weight gain. They also observed modest but significant overall weight gain associated with soft drink consumption. Moreover, the combination of higher weight gain and greater soft drink intake appeared to have an additive effect in increasing diabetes risk. Thus, these results support the view that strategies should be developed to reduce the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages to prevent obesity and type 2 diabetes.
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