New study links diet drinks to heart disease

ANKARA

Sugary and artificially sweetened drinks are associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, according to a recent study.

Conducted with 104,760 participants, a research published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology on Monday showed that diets, including beverages artificially sweetened can have a negative impact on cardio-metabolic health.

Participants were asked to fill out three validated 24-hour dietary records every six months, and 1,379 of them had first cases of cardiovascular disease, the study found.

"Our study suggests artificially sweetened beverages may not be a healthy substitute for sugar drinks," Eloi Chazelas, lead author of the study and a member of the Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team, said in a statement.

"These data provide additional arguments to fuel the current debate on taxes, labeling and regulation of sugary drinks and artificially sweetened beverages,” Chazelas added.

In the study, artificially sweetened beverages were defined as containing non-nutritive sweeteners, while sugary drinks consisted of all beverages containing 5% or more sugar.