New
research has suggested that a person's high intake of sugar - more than
any other factor like obesity and aging - is a big reason for diabetes:
The study's four authors, including Robert Lustig of the University
of California-San Francisco, examined data on sugar intake and diabetes
prevalence in 175 countries "controlling for other food types (including
fibers, meats, fruits, oils, cereals), total calories, overweight and
obesity, period-effects, and several socioeconomic variables such as
aging, urbanization and income."
For each bump in sugar "availability" (consumption plus waste)
equivalent to about a can of soda per day, they observed a 1 percent
rise in diabetes prevalence. This is a correlation, of course, and correlation
does not necessarily equal causation. On the other hand, as the authors
note in a lay summary, this "is far stronger than a typical point-in-time
medical correlation study."
"No other food types yielded significant individual associations
with diabetes prevalence after controlling for obesity and other confounders,"
the PLoS article states. "Differences in sugar availability statistically
explain variations in diabetes prevalence rates at a population level
that are not explained by physical activity, overweight or obesity."
Michael Mechanic of Mother Jones reports:
Here.
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