Sugar-Sweetened Beverages May Influence Genetic Predisposition to Obesity

Soda and other sugar-sweetened drinks are more likely causing obesity epidemic in Americans, finds new study.

As many as 33,000 Americans took part in three different studies by researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health from 1980s to 1990s. The participants were questioned about their food intake and what beverages they drank once in every four years.

They found that regular consumption of beverages triggers the genetic factor that causes a major impact on the person's weight and increases the risk of becoming obese.

While earlier studies have linked sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) with obesity and other chronic diseases like diabetes, there wasn't much study about the impact of environmental factors, such as drinking SSBs on the genes that predisposes the people to gain weight.

Based on their new study, experts found that those individuals who drank more than one sweet beverage per day were twice obese than those who consumed the drink once in every month.

The new findings have suggested that regular consumption of SSBs may intensify the genetic risk of obesity, which could mean that the impact of the harmful effects of the SSBs will be more on people with genetic predisposition to obesity.

Experts pointed out that the risk of obesity could be reduced by lessening the intake of sugar drinks that are high in calories and consuming more healthy beverages. "SSBs are one of the driving forces behind the obesity epidemic," Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at HSPH and a co-author of this study, said in a news release.

"The implication of our study is that the genetic effects of obesity can be offset by healthier food and beverage choices," he said.

While it is not clear as to how soda consumption triggers obesity, senior author of the study Lu Qi, assistant professor at Harvard School of Public Health, pointed out that some metabolic disorders such as insulin resistance and inflammation caused by soda might play a significant role influencing the risk of obesity, according to a report in USNews.

The findings of the study are published in the NewEngland Journal of Medicine.