If you’re at risk of obesity because of your genes, you may also be more at risk for weight gain from sugary drinks, according to new research published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
In people with a high genetic risk for obesity, getting a lot of sugar from sugar-sweetened drinks may amplify the genetic effects on obesity.
The study and two others looked at the effects on weight gain of sugary drinks — including sodas, fruit punches, lemonades, or other fruit drinks. The new research should inspire people to give up sugary drinks or consider them an occasional treat. It gives very clear evidence that drinking sweetened beverages even in modest amounts clearly results in increased weight and excess weight.
In a statement, the American Beverage Association countered: “We know, and science supports, that obesity is not uniquely caused by any single food or beverage.”
Sugary Drinks and Weight Gain in Teens
In another study, researchers split 224 overweight or obese teens who regularly drank sugary drinks into two groups.
One group was encouraged to drink fewer sugary drinks during a one-year program. They were followed for another year without a formal program.
The other group was not encouraged to have fewer sugary drinks.
The researchers, from Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard, tracked changes in body mass index (BMI). At two years, there was no substantial difference in BMI between the groups.
At one year, however, the rise in BMI was smaller in the group that was encouraged to have fewer sugary drinks.
Beverage Industry Perspective
Americans are drinking fewer sugary drinks, according to the American Beverage Association. In its statement, it says that calorie intake from sugary drinks declined by more than 20% between 2001 and 2010.
“By every measure, sugar-sweetened beverages play a small and declining role in the American diet,” it says.
“Obesity is caused by an imbalance between calories consumed from all foods and beverages and those burned through physical activity,” the statement says.
The industry group took exception with the new findings. Among the many criticisms:
- The study in children, it says, did not consider physical activity and total calories.
- The genetic study looked only at the 32 known genes linked with weight, but these account for only a small amount of BMI variation, according to the American Beverage Association.
