I think a large problem in society is the underestimated effects of sugar-sweetened beverages on our bodies. It has become very natural for some people to drink soda everyday. This is especially easy for us students who eat at the dinning commons and have access to soda for breakfast, lunch and dinner. There are lots of studies showing the risks of drinking sugar-sweetened drinks. One of the claims being made is that these drinks are lined to increased risk of heart disease in men.
The study which was published in Circulation, a journal of the American Heart Association, compared men who drank sugar-sweetened beverages and men who did not. “Beginning in January 1986 and every two years until December 2008,” questionnaires were sent and completed by participants concerning their health and diets (Source 1). Midway through the survey they also gave blood samples. There were 42,883 men being studied, who were primarily Caucasian men between the ages of 40 and 75. In order to collect data and form conclusions, researchers “measured different lipids and proteins in the blood” which can indicate heart disease. Researchers controlled risk factors in this study, to avoid that the result are skewed by a third variable. These risk factors included “smoking, physical inactivity, alcohol use and family history of heart disease” (Source 1). Their research showed that “men who drank a 12-ounce sugar-sweetened beverage a day had a 20 percent higher risk of heart disease compared to men who didn’t drink any sugar-sweetened drinks” (Source 1).
Frank B. Hu, the study leader, thinks that these results adds to the already growing evidence showing that sugar-sweetened drinks are extremely harmful to ones health. “Certainly, it provides strong justification for reducing sugary beverage consumption among patients, and more importantly, in the general population” says Hu (Source 1).
This study is convincing, as it was conducted while taking into consideration risk factors, and had a very large sample size and covered a long span of time. Although the sample size was big, the study only applied to men, and heart disease is important for men and women to avoid. Learning how sugar-sweetened drinks affect women is very important as well, as it could educate women on how to make healthier decisions to avoid heart disease, a leading cause of death in the United States. Hu, the leader of the study, also seems like an experienced researcher, as he is a professor of nutrition and epidemiology in the Harvard School of Public Health. An important thing to consider though is correlation versus causation. This is one thing we discussed in class with the topic of sugar-sweetened drinks causing weight gain. The confusion between correlation and causation can be caused by third variables. Since risk factors that can also cause heart disease were controlled, we know that those unhealthy habits that also could cause heart disease are not skewing the results. Even after controlling the risk factors, there was still an increase in risk of heart disease. Because the researchers took these into consideration, it can be said more confidently that this study shows causation between sugar-sweetened drinks and heart disease.
Overall, this study was conducted well and the conclusions seem to make sense. Obviously, there is always a possibility that these results were caused by chance. In order to make this study more accurate an approach could have been taken that is similar to the experiment done in Holland. The study in Holland, that we discussed in class, was a trial of sugar-free or sugar-sweetened beverages and body weight in children. It was a double-blind randomized control trial, so the subjects did not know what they were drinking. Blind trials provide stronger evidence, leading to this study’s clear results. This approach allows for people to make the same choices regardless of what they think they are drinking. If Hu took this approach, it would also allow the men to make the same food or health choices regardless of what type of drink they were drinking, because they would not know if it was sweetened or not. Subjects might be more inclined to eat healthier foods, maybe lessening the chance of heart disease, if they know they are drinking sweetened-drinks, compared to someone who knows they are not drinking a sweetened-drink.
I never really drink soda and if i do i only drink one cup of it. When im out or eating in the dining commons i never gravitate towards the sodas or I just avoid it because i know what i can do to me if i drink too much of it. I agree that being here we have more access to it because they serve it for breakfast lunch and dinner. As I read your blog and learned about the study with them men, i wanted to know how this affects women. I searched up sugar sweetened studies on women and a study done at Harvard caught my eye. In it, they did a 22 year old study on about 80,000 women and concluded that those who drank a sugary drink everyday had a 75% higher risk of obesity-related diseases. They also did the same study with men and the results were similar. This shows that no one is safe from drinking sugary drink everyday no matter if youre a woman or man. Everyone should drink plenty of water and cut down on sugary drinks.
I rarely ever drink soda. It is so sweet and water is so much healthier for your body. In your research, I thought it was very important to note the third variables from the study, especially the family history. According to http://www.cdc.gov/genomics/resources/diseases/heart.htm, Heart attacks are associated with some genetic disorders. After reading your blog, I will definitely try to stick to water and only have an occasional soda/sugar-drink.