A new 25-year study found that children who regularly drank soft drinks, sports drinks and fruit juice were more likely to develop high blood pressure as adults.
“Dietary habits in early life can have lasting health consequences,” said study senior author and Canada’s University of Toronto associate professor Dr Vasanti Malik.
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The study included more than 25,000 people who took part in a long-term American health study and were followed for up to 25 years.
Every one to four years, participants completed questionnaires about how often they drank sugary beverages such as soft drinks, fruit punch, lemonade, sweetened tea and sports drinks.
They also reported how much fruit juice, whole fruit and other foods they consumed, along with information about their weight, physical activity and smoking habits.
The researchers looked at whether drinking sugary beverages and fruit juice, as well as eating whole fruit were linked to a higher risk of high blood pressure.
They also used statistical models to estimate what might happen if people replaced sugary drinks or fruit juice with whole fruit, milk or water.
The study found that people who drank two or more servings of sugary beverages every day had a 52% higher risk of developing high blood pressure than those who drank fewer than three servings a week.
The risk further varied depending on the type of drink.
Each daily serving of a soft drink was linked to a 23% higher risk of high blood pressure, while each daily serving of sports drinks was linked to a 36% higher risk.
“Sugar-sweetened beverages, such as soft drinks and sports drinks, which are often marketed as somewhat healthy, should be limited,” Assoc Prof Vasanti says.
“Fruit juice intake may be harmless at low levels, yet harmful at higher intake levels.
“They should always be 100% fruit juice, and even so, consumed only in moderation.
“Whole fruit should be emphasised over sugary beverages.”
Drinking larger amounts of fruit juice was also associated with a higher risk.
People who drank at least 1.5 servings of fruit juice a day had a 35% higher risk of developing high blood pressure than those who drank less than one serving a week.
Among the different juices, each daily serving of orange juice was linked to a 20% higher risk of high blood pressure.
Apple juice and other fruit juices did not show the same link.
However, the researchers said some people may have mistakenly reported sugary orange-flavoured drinks as orange juice.
The researchers also estimated the potential benefits of healthier choices.
Replacing one daily serving of a sugary drink with whole fruit was associated with a 22% lower risk of high blood pressure.
Meanwhile, replacing one daily serving of fruit juice with whole fruit was linked to a 19% lower risk.
Replacing one daily serving of sugary drinks with milk or water was associated with up to a 13% lower risk of high blood pressure.
However, replacing fruit juice with milk or water did not significantly change the risk. – dpa
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