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News for Baby Boomers
Baby Boomers May Develop Metabolic Syndrome from Too
Many Soft Drinks Even Diet
Regular and diet versions may
lead to heart disease, diabetes
July 24, 2007 Baby Boomers, in this study
described as middle-aged adults, who drank more than one soft drink
daily, either diet or regular, have a more than 40 percent greater rate
of either having or developing metabolic syndrome, a cluster of
conditions that increase the risk for heart disease, according to new
data from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National
Institutes of Health.
A person is considered to have metabolic syndrome,
which also can lead to diabetes, if he or she has three or more of the
following five risk factors:
● waist circumference greater than or equal to 35
inches (women) or 40 inches (men),
● fasting blood glucose of greater than or equal to 100 mg/dL,
● triglycerides greater than or equal to 150 mg/dL;
● blood pressure greater than or equal to 135/85 mmHg, and
● HDL good cholesterol below 40mg/dL for men or below 50 mg/dL for
women.
Results from the Framingham Heart Studys Soft
Drink Consumption and Risk of Developing Cardio-Metabolic Risk Factors
and the Metabolic Syndrome in Middle Aged Adults in the Community," was
published online in Circulation yesterday.
Other studies have shown that the extra calories
and sugar in soft drinks contribute to weight gain, and therefore heart
disease risk, said Elizabeth G. Nabel, M.D., Director, NHLBI. This
study echoes those findings by extending the link to all soft drinks and
the metabolic syndrome.
While the authors acknowledge that the increased
risk of metabolic syndrome associated with high-calorie, high-sugar
regular soft drinks might be expected, the similar risk found among
those drinking diet sodas is more challenging to understand, they say.
It is worth noting that dietary patterns are similar across drinkers of
both regular and diet soft drinks.
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Sweetened Soft drinks linked to weight gain and type 2
diabetes |
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In 2004, an eight-year study of 50,000 nurses
showed a correlation that suggests drinking one or more sugar-sweetened
beverages (such as soft drinks and fruit punches) per day increases
one's risk of developing diabetes by 80% versus those who drink less
than one such drink per month. This finding was independent of other
lifestyle factors. It concludes, "Higher consumption of sugar-sweetened
beverages is associated with a greater magnitude of weight gain and an
increased risk for development of type 2 diabetes in women, possibly by
providing excessive calories and large amounts of rapidly absorbable
sugars." The study was reported in the Journal of the American Medical
Association, August 25, 2004, according to Wikipedia.
About Soft Drinks at Wikipedeia
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Although our study adjusted for lifestyle factors,
it is known that people who regularly drink soft drinks even diet
sodas are also known to eat foods that are higher in calories and fat,
and get less physical activity, said Ramachandran Vasan, M.D, professor
of medicine at Boston School of Medicine, and senior author of the
paper.
High soft drink consumption may in fact be a
marker for metabolic syndrome risk, but more study is needed, said Ravi
Dhingra, M.D., instructor in medicine, Harvard Medical School, and lead
author.
Data was collected in two ways, via
physician-administered questionnaire that captured average daily of
consumption of 12 ounce soft drinks, and a self-administered food
frequency questionnaire that captured the frequency of diet versus
regular soft drink intake.
Both questionnaires were recorded during Heart
Study visits scheduled in 1987-1991 and 1995-1998, and accounted for
nearly 9,000 person observations.
Our results point to the importance of long-term
observational studies such as the Framingham Heart Study, which allow us
to take a closer look at how aspects of diet are inter-related with
health risks, said Caroline Fox, MD, medical officer, Framingham Heart
Study and study co-author.
Although the study included only middle-aged
people, it is presumed to present a warning for all adults.
Resources:
Aim for Healthy Weight:
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/lose_wt/index.htm.
Your Guide to Healthy Heart:
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/other/your_guide/healthyheart.htm.
Diseases and Conditions Index Metabolic Syndrome:
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/ms/ms_whatis.html.
Editors Notes:
Part of the National Institutes of Health, the
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) plans, conducts, and
supports research related to the causes, prevention, diagnosis, and
treatment of heart, blood vessel, lung, and blood diseases; and sleep
disorders. The Institute also administers national health education
campaigns on women and heart disease, healthy weight for children, and
other topics. NHLBI press releases and other materials are available
online at
www.nhlbi.nih.gov.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) The
Nation's Medical Research Agency includes 27 Institutes and Centers
and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic,
clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the
causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For
more information about NIH and its programs, visit
www.nih.gov.
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