Are Sugary Drinks Worth the Increased Risk of Diabetes?

Not only do drinks containing sugar contribute to obesity but have also been linked to a greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes. According to the latest research study (published in Diabetologia) which followed 28,500 people in nine European countries for 15 years, all it takes on average is one 12-ounce sugary soda a day to increase your risk for diabetes by 22%. This finding supports other U.S. data that show an association between sugar-containing drinks such as sodas and fruit juices and heart disease as well as diabetes.

The European study found this correlation between diabetes and soft drinks but not fruit juices. Even after the researchers factored in body mass index and total daily caloric intake, there remained an 18% increase in the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Now this does not prove that sugary drinks cause type 2 diabetes, since other factors could contribute to drinking more sugary drinks and to developing diabetes separately. That’s the trouble with correlational studies like this one. Just because an increase in variable A, such as drinking sodas, is connected with an increase in variable B, such as developing diabetes, does not necessarily mean that A causes B. For example and totally hypothetically, a person could have a genetic predisposition to favor drinks with sugar and also to develop a diabetic condition. Although the drinks and diabetes are linked, it’s not a simple cause-and-effect relationship, but rather could be caused by a third and still unknown factor.

But frankly I would rather play it safe and avoid any drinks containing much sugar, especially sodas. Plenty of acceptable non-sugar alternatives exist. Why take the chance?

Parents: Beware of Letting Your Kids Become Overweight!

Well, moms and dads and all you overweight kids, the results are in, and they are not good. A new study (“A Clinical Trial to Maintain Glycemic Control in Youth with Type 2 Diabetes”) following 699 youth and teens from 10 to 17 years of age was reported in the New England Journal of Medicine. All of these subjects were either overweight or obese and had Type 2 diabetes as well. Although the study did not use a control group, which may have been difficult at best, nevertheless the results were pretty clear: Even through the medication regimen, a combination of medications regimen, and a group receiving medication plus a lifestyle change program, the researchers found significant (from 39% to almost 50%) failure in the subjects’ ability to manage their blood sugar levels.

Why do this study in the first place? Because Type 2 diabetes, which used to be called “adult-onset” diabetes, is accelerating faster than a race driver in the Indy 500. Since more and more young people are becoming butterballs, we have plenty of reasons to worry. So what does that mean for them? Dr. David M. Nathan, director of the Massachusetts General Hospital’s Diabetes Center, spelled it out, “I fear that these children are going to become sick earlier in their lives than we’ve ever seen before.” And severe risks are entailed in the use of some diabetes medications for young people. Besides, what will that do to an already messed-up health system, not that we actually have a “system”?

Parents, you have only yourselves to look to to deal effectively with this problem. The super rich, especially those behind the pharmaceutical companies, don’t care. The more medications get sold, the richer they get. Is there no end to their greed? Don’t they ever have enough? Parents, if you really love your kids, you have to start using “tough love” if nothing else works to get them to eat right and to exercise well. If you’re not sure where to start, do a little research on the Internet, or the library, or your school system. Start by being a good role model. It’s not hard. You can do it. If you don’t, no one else will.

Read more: http://healthland.time.com/2012/04/30/type-2-diabetes-is-tougher-to-treat-in-kids-and-teens/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+timeblogs%2Fwellness+%28TIME%3A+Wellness%29#ixzz1tZ7UOC8O