The Australian beverage industry says a new study that links soft drink consumption with heart disease in men is ill-informed.
Authors of the Swedish study published in the medical journal Heart found a link to a heightened risk of heart failure in men who drank two or more glasses of soft drink, including artificially sweetened products, every day.
The study of 42,400 men found the habit was associated with a 23 per cent higher risk of developing heart failure, but because it was observational, no conclusions could be drawn about cause and effect.
According to Geoff Parker, the CEO of beverage industry body the Australian Beverages Council, linking the consumption of any one food or beverage to heart failure was "extremely misleading".
“In no way does the study demonstrate or provide any correlation between the consumption of sweetened beverages and increased prevalence to heart failure," Parker said.
“In fact, the accompanying editors of this study admit that overconsumption of sweetened beverages is typically indicative of an overall poor diet, which is more of a causal factor in itself than any one food or beverage in particular.”
Parker also said the study, which has raised more questions than answers according to its peer-review, demonstrates no causal relationship between sweetened beverage consumption and heart failure.
“It only serves to further confuse and distort the health landscape,” he said.
“Like many other foods and beverages, sweetened drinks have a place in a balanced diet and can be enjoyed in moderation by using simple common sense.”
Catherine Collins, the principal dietitian at St George’s Hospital NHS Trust, said: “In all, this is a detailed study that lacks important dietary detail – so it’s impossible to suggest any dietary recommendations from this.”
Prof Francesco Cappuccio, Cephalon Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine & Epidemiology at the University of Warwick, said an alternative explanation, not discussed in the paper, is that high salt intake (salt intake is higher in low socio-economic groups) increases thirst, hence increased drinking including sweetened drinks.
Dr Gavin Sandercock, Reader in Clinical Physiology, University of Essex, said: “Trying to decide if sweetened drinks are the single cause of heart failure is impossible when diet and heart failure are both such complicated issues.”
He also said sweetened drinks ‘caused’ an extra three cases of heart failure per 1000 people.
“Compared with the risk associated with genetics, smoking or not exercising, that’s almost nothing.”
