According to a new study, regular consumption of sweet soft drinks increases the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) in women.

Teresa Fung (Simmons College, USA) and her colleagues at Harvard University found a strong enough link between the consumption of sweetened drinks and the risk of developing CHD. Women who daily drank 2 servings of these drinks or more, were afflicted with CHD 35% more often than those who drank less than two servings per day.

Scientists have taken into account other important factors, such as smoking, low levels of physical activity, a high body mass index, a high-calorie diet with a high content of saturated and trans fats, a lower intake of alcohol, fruits and vegetables. It turned out that women with the above habits were more likely to drink sugar sweetened drinks.

"We all know that drinking a lot of sweet drinks is bad. Our study was designed to find out whether their regular use affects the risk of IHD, "says Teresa Fung.

Drinks with the addition of sugar were all carbonated and non-carbonated beverages containing sugar as a sweetener and flavored with fruit juice or natural and artificial additives. Drinks were also taken into account on the basis of cola (with caffeine and without), as well as so-called "diet" carbonated drinks.

According to other studies, the consumption of sweet soft drinks has increased significantly over the past thirty years.

In the late seventies in the US, sweet drinks accounted for approximately 3.9% of the total energy value of food, compared with 9.2% at present.

The authors of the study used the data obtained in the Nurses' Health Study. The project was launched in 1976, it was created to study the factors affecting women's health. The register included approximately 88,000 women aged 34-59 years. Information on their diet was recorded since the eighties health. Sumy. Ua.