Sugary drinks health claims

Scientists based their findings on information collected as part of the 2010 Global Burden of Diseases study.

Of nine world regions, Latin America and the Caribbean had the highest number of diabetes deaths linked to soft drinks.

East and central Russia had the largest number of heart disease deaths.Mexico, which has one of the highest levels of sugary drink consumption in the world, had the greatest overall death rate.

In Mexico, 318 deaths per million adults each year were associated with sugar-sweetened drink consumption.

Japan, whose population is among those consuming the least sugary drinks, had the lowest death rate - just 10 per million adults.

The findings were presented at the American Heart Association's Epidemiology and Prevention/Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism (EPI/NPAM) meeting in New Orleans.

The researches linked high sugar drinks to:

• 133,000 deaths from diabetes
• 44,000 deaths from heart disease
• 6,000 deaths from cancer

It has been claimed that sugary soft drinks could be contributing to almost 200,000 deaths a year around the world.

Researchers used data from a major investigation of global disease to calculate the death toll associated with consumption of sodas and other sweetened drinks.

Although a causal link cannot be proved, sugar-sweetened drinks are known to contribute to excess body weight which in turn increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease and some cancers.