Here at Sip & Savor, we've blogged about myriad health-related topics:  obesity, cardiovascular disease, gout, the list goes on.  Today we've got a few things to share on Type 2 diabetes, as we know how important it is that members of the public health community provide Americans with fact-based information that will have a true impact on incidence of this chronic disease - especially in light of the recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report suggesting that, by 2050, the number of Americans with the disease could triple.

Now, if you've read some recent health-related news coverage, you may have seen mention of a recent study published in the journal Diabetes Care that alleges that consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages increases risk of Type 2 diabetes, as well as metabolic syndrome.  Well, today we'd like to share a few facts for your consideration as you decide what to believe about our industry's products and diabetes:

First of all, this latest paper, which was a meta-analysis, does not establish causality.  What does that mean?  In science, correlations - or associations - do not prove cause and effect.  In fact, this was recently reaffirmed in a New York Times article. Second, the authors only looked at one source of calories - a critical design flaw.  So why is this a flaw? Because we know that obesity is a primary risk factor for diabetes (and metabolic syndrome for that matter).  And obesity is caused by an imbalance between calories consumed and calories burned.  The same result may have occurred had they looked at any source of calories. The same CDC report mentioned above also reinforced the importance of diet and physical activity in reducing risk, not singling out any one food or beverage for reduction or elimination from the diet.

So how can we mitigate against developing diabetes?  We can't control all of the risk factors, but we can have an impact on maintaining a healthy weight.  You can also learn more about risk factors by visiting the American Diabetes Association website.