Drinking caloric beverages increases the risk of adverse cardiometabolic outcomes in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study.

Description

The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between consumption of low- and whole-fat milk, fruit juice, sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and cardiometabolic risk factors. The study sample included 2,774 adults from the prospective 20-year cohort of the CARDIA (Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults) study. Participants were aged 18-30 years at baseline and were black and white men and women. Results showed that high consumption of SSBs was associated with an increased risk of developing several component of metabolic syndrome such as waist circumference, triglycerides, LDL cholesterol and hypertension. Moreover, individuals with higher baseline intake of whole-fat milk and fruit juice were associated with lower risk of incident high triglycerides and hypertension, respectively. Consumption of low-fat milk was not statistically significantly related to any incident cardiometabolic risk factors. Over 20 years, the per capita calories for SSBs steadily increased, whereas per capita intake of low-fat and whole-fat milk as well as fruit juice declined. These results support the recommendations of limiting consumption of these caloric beverages to reduce the incidence of cardiometabolic risk factors in the population.