UK study highlights the alarming amount of sugar in soda drinks

Bumiku December 01, 2016
A new UK study has found that many soda drinks contain worrying amounts of sugar, contributing to health problems such as obesity and type 2 diabetes.
© Provided by AFPRelaxNewsA new UK study has found that many soda drinks contain worrying amounts of sugar, contributing to health problems such as obesity and type 2 diabetes.
A UK study out this week on the country's fizzy soda drinks has found that most contain alarmingly high levels of sugar, some up to 12 teaspoons per can. Carried out by Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), the team looked at the free sugars (sugars g/100 mL) content in a variety of carbonated sugar-sweetened beverages, including popular brands and supermarket versions. They found that the sugar content could be as high as 52.8 grams (12 teaspoons) per 330 mL can, with on average ginger beer containing the highest amounts of sugar (38.5 g per can) and ginger ale contained the lowest amount of sugar (22.9 g per can). Cola flavor drinks, the most popular flavor in the UK, contained an average of 35g of free sugar per can. Commenting on the findings, Kawther Hashem, co-author of the study and researcher for Action on Sugar at QMUL said, "Our study shows that the majority of carbonated sugar-sweetened drinks available in supermarkets exceed the maximum daily recommendation for sugar intake for an adult (30 g) and a child (24 g). It is therefore not possible to state that carbonated sugar-sweetened drinks can be consumed as part of a 'healthy balanced diet' even though drinks companies claim it can be."
Soft drinks are the main contributor of free sugars intake in children and teenagers, and the second main contributor in adults.  "Cola flavor is the most popular flavour in the UK, owing to the huge volume consumed; even small reductions would have a significant impact on free sugars and calorie intake of the population," added Hashem, which would be "very beneficial in reducing obesity, type 2 diabetes and dental caries." Currently in the UK a tiered Soft Drinks Industry Levy is being proposed to encourage companies to reduce the amount of sugar in their products. There would be a high, low and no tax for drinks containing more than 8g, 5g to 8g, and less than 5g of sugar per 100ml respectively. Of the drinks surveyed, the sugar content of 142 out of 169 drinks would need to be reduced to below 5g/100ml to avoid the tax completely, with the study's authors now calling for all sugar-sweetened drinks to be reduced below this level, as well as other measures put into place such as mandatory front of pack labelling portion size reductions and warning labels. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommend obtaining less than 10% of total energy intake from all free sugars, which is equivalent to 50 g or around 12 level teaspoons a day for a person of healthy body weight who eats around 2000 calories per day. However ideally less than 5% of total energy intake should come from sugar for health benefits. The results of the study can be found online published in BMJ Open.
70 Most Popular Sodas Ranked by How Toxic They Are: You don't need to live in Philadelphia to pay the price of drinking soda.Philadelphia is the first major U.S. city to pass a tax on soda—1.5 cents per ounce, which is about $1 more for a 2-liter—and it's set to take effect on January 1, 2017. The beverage industry is already fighting the ambitious move, but we're hoping the law sticks. The truth is that you don't need to live in Philadelphia to pay the price of drinking soda. Although we call them “beer bellies,” new science says we ought to call our bloated midsections what they really are: soda bellies. In a study of about 1,000 adults over the course of six years, people who drank soda or other sugar-sweetened beverages gained an extra 1.8 pounds of visceral fat—the fat that sits inside your gut, damaging your internal organs and pushing your belly out into a King of the Hill–style slouch. To put that in perspective, 1.8 pounds is about how much a fetus weighs at 24 weeks. This means you can go from your lean, slim self to looking like you’re in your second trimester just by drinking a daily soda, sweetened iced tea, or fruit punch. (Talk about a punch to the gut!) But instead of carrying a bundle of joy, you're carrying a bundle of toxic fat; Visceral fat has been shown to increase your risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes, among other ills. Why is soda so good at making us look bad? It’s the sugar. The USDA issued new guidelines in early 2016, recommending no more than 180 sugar calories per day for women (and 200 for men). This is the equivalent of approximately 45 grams of sugar—an amount that many sodas and other sweetened beverages exceed in just one can. And if it’s not sugar, then it’s artificial sweetener, which is 180 times sweeter than sugar and just as damaging to your waistline.Here, we’ve ranked the 70 most popular sodas: Category 1 has 32 regular (non-diet) sodas, and Category 2 has 38 diet sodas. Click through to see where your favorites fall—and then find out what else is on the list of 50 Little Things Making You Fatter and Fatter.SPONSORED: Exclusive offer for MSN readers! THE RAPID FLAT BELLY PLAN: You’ll get the Flat Belly Success Journal, quick and delicious 350-calorie recipes, the 100 healthiest supermarket swaps, and calorie-saving restaurant swaps and more to help you banish your belly fat faster than you ever thought possible. Click here to start losing weight today!
70 Most Popular Sodas Ranked by How Toxic They Are

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