Sugary Drinks Linked to Heart Disease Even in Women Who Are Not Overweight
A study presented before the meeting of the American Heart Association in Orlando indicated that women who have a daily sugary drink habit may be increasing their risk for developing heart disease.
The results of the study showed that women who consumed two or more sugary drinks daily are more likely to be at risk for heart disease. This was true, the study indicated, even for those women who did not gain weight during the 5-year period of the study.
Sugary drinks, it was defined, may come in the form of sweet tea, soda, or dessert-like coffee drinks.
Christina Shay, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and lead author of the study, shared: “So we looked at its association with individual risk factors for heart disease… is it blood pressure, cholesterol, obesity? What is it specifically?”
The study, conducted by Shay and her colleagues, involved following 4,166 people aged 45 to 84, who participated in the larger Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. Shay shared that they noted a “striking” difference between men and women; women with a sugary drink habit developed high triglyceride levels, while men did not.
The results of the study indicated further that women who consumed two or more sugary drinks per day were four times more likely to develop high levels of triglycerides, when compared against those who did not drink as much sweet beverages. Women who have a daily sugary drink habit were also more likely to develop abnormal fasting glucose levels, an indicator for the onset of diabetes.
Shay shared further: “These drinks maybe influencing heart disease risk factor even if people don’t gain weight.”
Tags: dangers of sugary drinks, health risks of sugary drinks, heart disease causes, heart disease due to sugary drinks, sugary drinks side effects
