Drinking Soda Linked to Dangerous Belly Fat

Drinking sugar-sweetened beverages like soda is associated with an increase in belly fat, according to new research from the American Heart Association.

This type of visceral fat is dangerous - especially in middle-age adults - as it settles around the organs and can lead to cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

"Our message to consumers is to follow the current dietary guidelines and to be mindful of how much sugar-sweetened beverages they drink," said Dr. Caroline Fox, lead study author and special volunteer with the National Institutes of Health.

The study examined how both sugar-sweetened beverages and diet soda affected fat storage in both men and women with an average age of 45.

Hormonal imbalances

Sugar-sweetened soda may be linked to diabetes because it disrupts hormones that regulate the insulin response, the study authors reported in the journal Circulation.

The study found that, regardless of a person's age, gender, body mass index or activity levels, frequent drinkers of sugar-sweetened beverages added 707 cubed centimeters of visceral fat over the course of the 6-year study period. Daily drinkers of sugary beverages added 852 cubed centimeters of fat to their waistlines.

In the U.S., sugary drinks are the largest source of added sugar intake among Americans.

The American Heart Association changed their recommendations for sugar in 2009 - for women, no more than 100 calories per day of added sugar should be consumed, while men should limit their intake to 150.

Source: American Heart Association