A new study suggests that drinking sugared soda on a daily basis may be linked to accelerated DNA ageing.
People who drank nearly 350 mL of the carbonated beverage per day had changes in their DNA that were characteristic of cells much older (roughly 4.6 years).
Researchers from the University of California San Francisco analyzed the telomeres, or caps, at the end of each strand of DNA of 5,309 participants aged 20 to 65. These patients had no history of diabetes or cardiovascular diseases. They were also asked to complete a survey regarding their soda consumption.
The DNA analysis showed that those who drink more soda have shorter telomeres in their white blood cells. Scientists have associated the length of the telomeres to the human lifespan, wherein those who have shorter telomeres are perceived to have a shorter lifespan and higher risk of aging, heart disease, diabetes and some cancers.
The study also revealed that the average soda consumption was 12 ounces, and 21 percent of people drank at least 20 ounces of sugared soda per day. Researchers linked the daily consumption of a 20-ounce soda to 4.6 years of biological aging. The results remained the same even after including other factors, such as age, race, income and education.
"Regular consumption of sugar-sweetened sodas might influence disease development, not only by straining the body's metabolic control of sugars, but also through accelerated cellular aging of tissues," said Elissa Epel, PhD, professor of psychiatry at UCSF and senior author of the study, in the news release.
The study is the first to associate soda drinking with the length of the telomeres. But researchers clarified that additional research is needed to establish a cause-and-effect relationship between the two. Epel's team is aware that some might not agree with their findings, so they plan to continue their study using a short-term diet high in sugar.
"It's an interesting suggestion that, by taking these beverages that so emphasize a single molecule, there's a fundamental relationship between excess sugar in the diet and telomeres. But disease is long-term, and these are small effects. You're going to need long-term studies with follow-up to really see what happens," said David Jacobs, a professor of public health and epidemiology at the University of Minnesota, to The Guardian. Jacobs is not part of the study.
The findings of the study were published in the American Journal of Public Health.
