Soda’s Hidden Toll: 330,000 Deaths a Year - AI Podcast
Apr 23, 2025•10 min
Episode description
Story at-a-glance
- Sugar-sweetened beverages are linked to 338,240 deaths annually and contributed to 2.2 million new Type 2 diabetes cases in 2020, representing about 1 in 10 cases globally
- Sugary drinks cost the world 12.5 million healthy years of life in 2020 and are associated with 1.2 million new cardiovascular disease cases, or about 1 in 30 cases
- Latin America, the Caribbean and sub-Saharan Africa face the highest health impacts, with some countries attributing nearly half of new diabetes cases to sugary drinks
- Young adults aged 25 to 29 are particularly vulnerable, with 15.6% of their Type 2 diabetes cases linked to sugar-sweetened beverages due to higher consumption rates
- Unlike natural sugars in fruits that come with fiber and nutrients, added sugars in beverages offer no nutritional benefits and significantly increase health risks
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