A new study published in Diabetologia found some pretty scary stats about the sweet stuff. Researchers from Imperial College London analyzed the beverage habits of more than 300,000 participants in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition, rounding up a huge sample of people from the UK, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Spain, Sweden, France, and the Netherlands. Researchers focused on sugar-sweetened beverages, juices, and artificially sweetened beverages. The results? Drinking just one daily 12-ounce serving of a sugar-sweetened soft drink—one can—was linked to a 22% increased risk of type 2 diabetes. Even when researchers controlled for BMI and total caloric intake, which are two variables thought to lessen the association between sugar and diabetes, the elevated risk was still high: 18%. They found none of the same associations between type 2 diabetes and juices, nectars, or artificially sweetened soft drinks. (Still, that’s not carte blanche to guzzle fake sugar: check out the 7 Side Effects of Drinking Diet Soda.) These scary numbers aren’t unprecedented. A 2010 meta-analysis conducted stateside found that a single can is linked to a 25% increased risk of type 2 diabetes. Wonder where else sugar might be hiding? Check out the sugar content in 20 common foods—and you won’t even want dessert.
