Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Cancer Research, Sugar / 14.03.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Nadia Koyratty PhD student Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health University at Buffalo State University of New York MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The literature suggests that sugars contribute to the incidence of breast cancer, but few exists on the prognosis after a breast cancer diagnosis. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings? Response: Compared to breast cancer patients who never or rarely drank non-diet soda, those who reported drinking non-diet soda five times or more per week had a 62% higher likelihood of dying from any causes, and were 85% more likely to die from breast cancer specifically. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Metabolic Syndrome, Nutrition, Sugar / 09.07.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Zhila Semnani-Azad, Ph.D. Candidate  Department of Nutritional Sciences Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto Toronto, ON, Canada MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Dietary fructose-containing sugars have been suggested to be an important contributing factor to increased metabolic syndrome risk. Several studies have consistently shown a strong association between sugar-sweetened beverages and increased incidence of metabolic syndrome. There is little information, however, on the role of other food sources of fructose-containing sugars in the development of metabolic syndrome. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, Sugar / 01.02.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Marta Yanina Pepino, PhD Assistant Professor Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition Division of Nutritional Sciences College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences Administration University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Urbana, IL 61801 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: There is a general belief that substituting sugars with low calorie sweeteners contributes to diet healthfulness. However, accumulating data suggest that consuming a diet high in low calorie sweeteners , mainly in diet sodas, is associated with the same health issues than consuming a diet high in added sugars, including an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes.  The potential mechanism underlying such association are varied and still unclear. Our findings contribute to the growing evidence  that despite having very little or no calories, sweeteners can affect our metabolism (i.e.  the way we handle blood sugar) and that their effects may be different in people with obesity from those of normal weight. (more…)
Author Interviews, Emory, Heart Disease, JAMA, Pediatrics, Sugar / 19.05.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jean A. Welsh, RN, MPH, PhD Departments of Epidemiology and Pediatrics Emory University Wellness Department, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Atlanta, Georgia MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: As the evidence has accumulated regarding the health risks associated with sugar-sweetened beverages, I’ve wondered about fruit juices.  Though they have a kind of healthy halo, their main ingredients are the same as sugar-sweetened beverages, sugar and water.  We know that young children drink a lot of fruit juice, and I’ve wondered if older children and adults might switch to drinking more as concern grows about soft drinks and other sugar-sweetened beverages. (more…)
Alcohol, Author Interviews, Hepatitis - Liver Disease, Lifestyle & Health, Sugar / 25.04.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: E. van Eekelen, MSc | PhD Candidate Leiden University Medical Center Dept. Clinical Epidemiology Leiden, The Netherlands MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: Fatty liver, defined as excess accumulation of fat within the liver, covers a broad clinical spectrum and is the leading cause of chronic liver diseases. It has also been linked to type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The consumption of alcohol is a well-established risk factor for fatty liver. However, we hypothesized that consumption of non-alcoholic energy-containing beverages also leads to liver fat accumulation. We analysed data from the Netherlands Epidemiology of Obesity (NEO) study, which is a prospective population-based cohort study including non-invasive measurements of liver fat content by magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Besides consumption of alcoholic beverages, sugar sweetened beverages were associated with more liver fat. We specifically showed that replacement of alcoholic beverages with milk was associated with less liver fat, whereas replacement with sugar sweetened beverages was associated with a similar amount of liver fat, even when taking calories into account.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Nutrition, Social Issues, Sugar / 03.04.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Professor Sofia B. Villas‐Boas Ph.D and Scott Kaplan, Ph.D. Candidate Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720‐3310  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The background leading up to this study is the fact that  in 2014, the city of Berkeley passed the nation’s first sugar-sweetened beverage tax, also called soda tax, through a 75% YES public vote. Using beverage sales data from U. C Berkeley campus retailers, we find that sales of soda fell relative to non-SSB beverages by 10-20% after the election outcome and before the tax was ever passed on to consumers. We know this to be the case because the campus only passed through the higher prices to consumers in middle of 2016. This effect is also found when we look at beverage sales in retail outlets near U C Berkeley. There, quantity dropped after the Yes election outcome relative to quantity changes in counterfactual stores (in retailers near other U C campuses where the tax was not passed and with comparable patterns of sales to those in the city of Berkeley at baseline). (more…)
Author Interviews, Johns Hopkins, Kidney Disease, Sugar / 02.01.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Casey M. Rebholz, PhD, MS, MNSP, MPH, FAHA Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Core Faculty, Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology, and Clinical Research Baltimore, MD 21287 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: Individual beverages have been previously shown to influence risk of a wide range of cardiometabolic diseases. Less is known about beverage consumption and kidney disease risk. In this study population, we found that one such beverage pattern consisted of soda, sugar-sweetened beverages, and water, and that higher adherence to the sugar-sweetened beverage pattern was associated with greater odds of developing incident kidney disease, even after accounting for demographic characteristics and established risk factors.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Columbia, Sugar / 25.10.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: “Soda” by Jannes Pockele is licensed under CC BY 2.0Jennifer Woo Baidal, MD, MPH Assistant Professor of Pediatrics Director of Pediatric Weight Management, Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, Columbia University Medical Center & New York-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Childhood obesity prevalence is historically high, with most incident obesity among children occurring before age 5 years. Racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in childhood obesity are already apparent by the first years of life. Latino/Hispanic children in low-income families are at-risk for obesity. Thus, understanding potentially effective ways to prevent childhood obesity, particularly in vulnerable populations, should focus on early life. Sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption is a modifiable risk factor for obesity and is linked to other adverse health outcomes. Maternal SSB consumption in pregnancy and infant sugar-sweetened beverage consumption in the first year of life are linked to later childhood obesity. We sought to describe beverage consumption in a modern cross-sectional cohort of 394 low-income, Latino families, and to examine the relationship of parental attitudes toward sugar-sweetened beverages with parental and infant SSB consumption. (more…)
Author Interviews, Dental Research, Pediatrics, Sugar / 29.03.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: “Caries” by COM SALUD Agencia de comunicación is licensed under CC BY 2.0Teresa A. Marshall, PhD Professor in the Department of Preventive and Community Dentistry University of Iowa College of Dentistry Iowa City MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Dental caries is a process during which oral bacteria ferment carbohydrates to produce acid. The acid demineralizes enamel and/or dentin at the tooth surface leading to white spots and eventually cavitation in the tooth. Added sugars – those not naturally present in foods or beverages, but rather added during processing – are the primary type of carbohydrate associated with caries. Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs; beverages with added sugars) are the food/beverage category most associated with dental caries. Historically, fluoride has protected against caries through remineralization of the enamel. However, there has been some question as to whether fluoride’s ability to protect against caries is overwhelmed by the quantity of added sugars currently consumed. Oral hygiene behaviors – brushing and flossing – are thought protect against caries by disrupting the oral bacteria on the tooth. Most studies have investigated dietary factors and caries during early childhood, with less attention paid to caries during adolescence. Our objective was to identify associations between longitudinal beverage intakes and adolescent caries experience, while also considering fluoride intake and tooth brushing behaviors. We followed a group of children from birth through age 17 years; during this time period, we looked at their beverage intakes, fluoride intakes and brushing behaviors every 3-6 months. We calculated their average milk, 100% juice, SSB, water/water-based beverage and fluoride intakes from 6 months through 17 years, and daily tooth brushing from 1 through 17 years. (more…)
Author Interviews, BMJ, Nutrition, Weight Research / 20.07.2015

Fumiaki Imamura Ph.D. MRC Epidemiology Unit University of CambridgeMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Fumiaki Imamura Ph.D. MRC Epidemiology Unit University of Cambridge Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Imamura: Soft drink consumption is associated with risk of diabetes, but whether or not the association persists after controlling for obesity status is not known. Diet drinks and fruit juice may be good alternatives to soft drinks. However, while obese individuals may consume diet drinks or fruit juice instead of sugar-sweetened soft drinks, evidence was weak to determine whether or not consuming these beverages is associated with risk of diabetes. (more…)
Author Interviews, Nutrition, Weight Research / 24.07.2014

Alison E. Field, ScD Professor of Pediatrics Boston Children's Hospital Division of Adolescent Medicine Boston, MA 02115MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Alison E. Field, ScD Professor of Pediatrics Boston Children's Hospital Division of Adolescent Medicine Boston, MA  02115 Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: We found that intake of regular soda is decreasing, whereas, sports drink consumption is increasing. More importantly, we found that intake of sports drinks predicted greater weight gain among adolescent boys and girls. (more…)