Diabetes and Soft Drinks – the Risks Revealed
Dec 22, 2009 | Posted by in Featured, Health and Fitness | 0 Comments
Soft Drinks Could Increase Diabetes Risk For Pregnant Women
Pregnant women may be putting themselves at greater risk of developing diabetes by continuing to drink soft drinks throughout their pregnancy, according to new research.
A US study found that almost 20 per cent of the daily calories people consume come sugary in soft drinks.
Liwei Chen, a researcher from Louisiana State University, explained that all that sugar is a problem because it can contribute to obesity and life threatening conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
She suspected that women who consume a high volume of sugary drinks may be increasing their risk of gestational diabetes.
“Gestational diabetes is a special condition among women who do not have a diagnosis of Type two diabetes before pregnancy, but … have glucose intolerance during pregnancy,” she said.
The inability to process sugar normally is not only a problem for the expectant mother it can also create problems for the baby, she added.
Ms Chen studied data from research of more than 13,000 women and discovered that those who had habitual intake of higher sugar-sweetened beverages have a higher risk of gestational diabetes.
The research was published in the journal Diabetes.