A recent study has linked sweetened fruit juices and soda to the high chance of developing chronic kidney disease.
Researchers have looked into the effects of different beverages, including ones that have high sugar content, to the body. This latest research is added to the growing number of literature which supports claims that sweetened drinks have negative effects on a person's health.
The findings were published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.
Consequences Of Drinking Sugary Beverages
"There is a lack of comprehensive information on the health implications of the wide range of beverage options that are available in the food supply," explained Casey Rebholdz of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and author of the paper.
To find out the dire consequences of drinking sweetened beverages to the body, the researchers analyzed the diets of more than 3,000 participants. They collected information about beverage intake through a food frequency questionnaire that was administered from 2000 to 2004. They also observed the health of the participants from 2009 to 2013.
After the research period, Dr. Rebholdz and her colleagues found that 185 people or 6 percent of the participants developed chronic kidney disease. They linked the consumption of soda, sweetened fruit juices, and, surprisingly, water, to a higher risk of developing chronic kidney disease.
Those who consumed high amounts of the aforementioned beverages were 61 percent more likely to develop chronic kidney disease compared to those who drank less.
Among the beverages investigated, water, of course, was the healthiest option. The researchers explained that the participants might have reported their consumption of a wide variety of water, including flavored and sweetened. Unfortunately, they do not have data on the kinds of bottled water that the participants consumed during the study.
Sugary Beverages As A Threat To Public Health
Although the research associated chronic kidney disease with sugary beverages, it does not prove a cause-and-effect relationship. However, the findings, the researchers noted, have serious public health implications.
"This cultural resistance to reducing SSB consumption can be compared to the cultural resistance to smoking cessation during the 1960s after the Surgeon General report was released," wrote Holly Kramer and David Shoham of the Loyola University in Chicago in an accompanying editorial. "During the 1960s, tobacco use was viewed as a social choice and not a medical or social public health problem."
The researchers hope that this study will lead to stricter policies that aim to reduce the consumption of beverages that are high on sugar. The editorial noted that while a few cities in the United States already have higher taxes imposed on sugary beverages, others have not made enough efforts to discourage sugary drinks.
