
01/18/2025
Sugar-Sweetened Beverages: What's the Real Impact?
Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are quickly digested, triggering insulin release and other regulatory pathways leading to visceral fat accumulation, insulin resistance in the liver and skeletal muscles, and weight gain. The resulting excess body fat and metabolic dysfunction further stimulate inflammatory cytokines, increasing the risk of hypertension, dyslipidemia, and diabetes. As a result, SSBs can contribute to the onset of cardiometabolic diseases, i.e., diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD), as well as excess weight gain, which makes its own contribution to diabetes and CVD.
Sugar-sweetened beverages, the liquid delight promising a moment of joy and delivering a lifetime (?) of regret. Position as a public health disaster by some, how much of the blame can we pin on SSBs? With so many other lifestyle culprits in play, it’s worth asking if they’re the real villain or...