7/24/2007 - Soft drinks may harm the heart, study shows Soft drinks aren’t very easy on the heart, a new study suggests. Researchers found that drinking more than one soft drink daily—regular or diet—can increase a person's risk for heart disease. The findings are based on an observational study of 6,039 people participating in the Framingham Heart Study, and appear in the new issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. Researchers said drinking many soft drinks regularly appears to boost a person’s risk for metabolic syndrome, a cluster of risk factors for diabetes and cardiovascular disease including high blood pressure, a large waist circumference, poor cholesterol levels and high blood sugar levels. In the study, people who drank one or more soft drinks daily had a 44 percent higher risk for developing metabolic syndrome within the next four years than those who drank less than one soft drink a day. Researchers also found that people drinking one or more soft drinks daily were: · 31 percent more likely to become obese. · 25 percent more likely to develop high blood sugar. · 32 percent more likely to have poor cholesterol levels. Researchers aren’t certain what it is about soft drinks that may contribute to these problems. And they cautioned that since their study simply observed people it does not prove a connection between soft drinks and metabolic syndrome. Future studies are needed to confirm these findings and show more about the possible relationship, researchers said. Still, the findings suggest that it may be a good idea to moderate soft drink consumption. "Moderation in anything is the key," said Ravi Dhingra, M.D., lead study author. "If you are drinking one or more soft drinks a day, you may be increasing your risk of developing metabolic risk factors for heart disease." Back