Harvard Study Links 25,000 U.S. Deaths to Sugary Drinks

Following quick on the heels of New York City’s refusal to ban the sale of giant-sized soft drinks is a recently released study done at Harvard University which directly links the consumption of sugary drinks to deaths from obesity-related diseases. The study found that 180,000 deaths around the globe, including 25,000 in the United States alone, could be directly attributed to consuming sugar-sweetened beverages including soft drinks. The study, which took five years to complete, showed a direct correlation between drinking sugar-sweetened beverages and deaths caused by diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. The authors of the study are warning that the results are a wake-up call for governments everywhere to begin considering soft drinks and other sugar-sweetened beverages as a major public health hazard and to act toward implementing laws that would significantly reduce their consumption among the general population. The American Beverage Association criticized the report as being sensationalistic rather than scientific.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2013/03/19/25000-us-deaths-linked-to-sugary-drinks/

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