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The study led by French researchers followed 101,257 healthy French adults over a maximum of 9 years. The participants completed at least two standardized questionnaires over the course of the study. They were asked about their usual intake of more than 3,000 different food and beverage items. The study appears in the July 10, 2019 British Medical Journal (BMJ).
Earlier studies have shown a link between sugar intake and obesity and visceral or gut fat that is stored around the liver and pancreas. Also sugary drinks have been linked with diabetes and inflammation, which are also linked to higher cancer risk.
For this study the researchers wanted to see if there was an association between sugary drinks, 100% fruit drinks and artificially sweetened drinks, and cancer. What they found was that first cases of cancer reported by the participants showed a dose response increase in cancer risk for sugary drinks, meaning more cancers were reported among participants with higher consumption of sugary drinks.
There were 2,193 first cases of cancer diagnosed and validated with 693 breast cancers, 291 prostate cancers, and 166 colorectal cancers. The results showed that a 100mL per day increase in the consumption of sugary drinks was associated with an 18% increased risk of overall cancer and a 22% increased risk of breast cancer.
When the researchers categorized the sugary drinks they found no difference in risk between those who drank sugary beverages and those who drank 100% fruit juice, however, those who drank artificially sweetened drinks did not have an increased risk of cancer.
It is important to note that as an observational study the results cannot show that sugary drinks cause cancer. Other ingredients in sodas and juices may also play a role. Also because the data are based on self-reported consumption amounts, there may be miscalculations or misclassification of beverages.
That said, this was a very large study carried out over a long time period with adjustments made for a number of potentially confounding factors. As such it is reasonable to conclude that the study supports existing nutritional recommendations to limit consumption of sugary drinks.
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