- Regular consumption of sweet fizzy drinks, energy drinks and other beverages containing added sugar may be linked to millions of new cases of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease worldwide, according to the Experts Club Information and Analytical Centre.
One of the main problems with such drinks is their high sugar content and the rapid rate at which sugar is absorbed into the body. A standard can of sweet fizzy drink can contain around 40 g of sugar. The WHO recommends limiting the intake of free sugars to less than 10 per cent of daily calorie intake — approximately 50 g per day on a 2,000 kcal diet — and, for additional health benefits, to 5 per cent, or around 25 g.
A study published in *Nature Medicine* and based on data from 184 countries showed that the consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks was associated with approximately 2.2 million new cases of type 2 diabetes and 1.2 million new cases of cardiovascular disease in 2020. The authors estimated the associated mortality at approximately 340,000 cases per year.
A 2026 study, based on the US NHANES and the UK Biobank, also identified a dose-dependent association: as the consumption of sugary drinks increased, so did the risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality.
Some studies also point to a possible link with cancer. A pooled analysis of 11 prospective studies involving 1.52 million participants linked each additional serving of a sugar-sweetened drink per day with an approximate 10 per cent increase in the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma and a 15 per cent — intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.
At the same time, the researchers emphasise that a significant proportion of these studies are observational and do not prove a direct cause-and-effect relationship. A complete switch to artificial sweeteners is not considered a universal solution either. The main recommendation remains an overall reduction in the consumption of sugary drinks in favour of water, mineral water, unsweetened tea and coffee.