A recent study indicates that drinking even a single 12-ounce can of soda each day may significantly increase your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. The study was conducted as part of InterAct, a large, ongoing investigation into how lifestyle and genetic factors influence Type 2 diabetes risk. InterAct is a collaboration between nine countries, including the U.K., Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Germany, France, Finland, Denmark and Germany.

During the 16-year study, those who consumed just one 12-ounce regular (in other words, sugar-sweetened) soda per day increased their risk of developing diabetes by 18% in comparison to those who never drank soda at all. They found that Type 2 diabetes risk increased by an additional 18% for each additional can of soda consumed daily.

Soda Causes a Spike in Blood Sugar

In order to conduct their study, an international team of researchers looked at health data for approximately 12,000 individuals, all of whom developed Type 2 diabetes within the time period of 1991 to 2007. The researchers also analyzed information for another group of 15,000 individuals who, for the most part, did not develop Type 2 diabetes during the same time frame.

The researchers found that, overall, individuals who consumed at least one regular soda per day increased their Type 2 diabetes risk by 30% in comparison to those who consumed less than one soda monthly.

The researchers were careful to account for many factors that could influence diabetes risk when conducting their study, such as daily caloric intake, body mass index, physical activity habits and age. In light of this, the researchers believe that the link between regular soda and diabetes risk may have to do with the abrupt upswing in blood sugar levels that occurs after drinking a sugar-sweetened beverage.

The study did not find an association between diet soda consumption and diabetes risk.

Limitations of the Study

It’s important to note that the study did not identify a link of causation between soda consumption and diabetes. In other words, you will not necessarily develop Type 2 diabetes if you drink soda regularly. However, the study did find a significant link of association between the two.

Also of significance is the fact that the participants involved in the study only reported their dietary habits a single time – at the beginning of the study. It’s entirely possible, even likely, that many of the study participants changed their dietary habits over the course of the study’s 16 years. These dietary modifications could have greatly influenced each individual’s risk of developing diabetes. Still, the study was large enough that the findings can’t be ignored – an earlier study, this one in the U.S., found that drinking regular soda daily boosts your Type 2 diabetes risk by up to 25%.

Regular soda was shown to increase stroke risk as well in a 2012 study.

The Bottom Line

Drinking a can of soda every day may seem like “moderation” – at least it’s not a two-liter every day, you may tell yourself – but even this habit increases your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by roughly 18%.

The full text of the study can be found in Diabetologia, a medical journal devoted to diabetes research.