Stark new warning over sugary soft drinks
BY JANE KIRBY LESS than a can of sugary drink per day is enough to increase your risk of all cancers by 18 per cent, a major study has found.
Researchers who followed data on more than 100,000 people also found that among women, sugary drinks increased the risk of breast cancer by 22 per cent.
Experts stressed that the findings did not prove that sugary drinks, including natural fruit juice, caused cancer, and that more research was needed.
The scientists asked the guinea pigs to fill in questionnaires every six months on what they ate and drank.
They found that, on average, people drank 92.9ml a day of sugary soft drink or natural fruit juice.
For every 100ml drunk above that, a person’s cancer risk increased by 18 per cent for all cancers and 22 per cent for breast cancer.
The people who drank the most sugary drinks had a 30 per cent higher cancer risk. Twenty-one per cent of those studied were men and the rest were women.
Obesity is a cause of 13 types of cancer, but the study found that even slim people were at greater risk if they drank sugary drinks or fruit juice.
They pointed to other research suggesting that sugary drinks leads to fat around the abdomen, which aids the growth of tumours, even if a person is a healthy weight.
The study, carried out in France and published in the British Medical Journal, found no links between diet drinks and increased cancer risk.
Susannah Brown of the World Cancer Research Fund said: “More research is needed to understand if there is a direct link between sugary drinks and cancer.
“For now, we recommend not drinking sugary drinks to reduce your risk of weight gain and therefore cancer. Rely on water to quench your thirst.”
Gavin Partington, directorgeneral of the British Soft Drinks Association, said soft drinks were safe as part of a balanced diet, and the study’s authors admitted it “does not provide evidence of cause”.