Study Claims High Consumption Of Sugary Drinks Leads To Increased Cancer Risks

The observational study, published in The British Medical Journal on Wednesday, 10 July, involved over 100,000 French adults.

The Guardian reported that participants completed at least two 24-hour online validated dietary questionnaires, which were designed to measure their usual intake of 3,300 food and beverage items, and were followed up for a maximum of nine years.

Over the course of the study, nearly 2,193 cancers were diagnosed during this period.

Of that number, BBC reported, 693 were breast cancers, 291 were prostate cancers, and 166 were colorectal cancers.

For the study, "sugary drinks" are defined as drinks with more than 5% sugar. This included:

- fruit juice with no added sugar,
- soft drinks,
- sweetened milkshakes,
- energy drinks,
- tea or coffee with sugar stirred in, and
- diet drinks with zero-calorie artificial sweeteners.

As BBC noted, the study is designed simply to spot patterns.

So while people who drink more sugary drinks have more cancer cases, the study does not take into account the other unhealthy habits of the person that could potentially increase the risk of cancer.

"While this study doesn't offer a definitive causative answer about sugar and cancer, it does add to the overall picture of the importance of the current drive to reduce our sugar intake," Dr Amelia Lake from Teesside University told BBC.