Over the last few weeks there have been a few studies alleging that drinking soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages is linked to one negative health outcome or another.  This week, the journal Hypertension has published a study suggesting that sugar-sweetened beverage consumption is linked to increased blood pressure.  So we’d like to remind people to be cautious when taking in some of the media coverage about the latest “study of the day” – no matter what the subject matter is.

Today, we’d like to share some very important facts about this hypertension study:

First of all, this is a cross-sectional epidemiological study. Why does that matter?  Because it doesn’t – and can’t – establish that one thing caused another. So in this case, the study does not show that drinking sugar-sweetened beverages in any way causes hypertension. But why is that so important?  Because association does not prove causation. The findings need to be kept in perspective - the level of blood pressure changes noted by the authors are inconsequential.  In fact, they are well within standard measurement error. Also of note, it appears that the authors failed to control for critical variables that can impact hypertension risk, such as body mass index – or BMI.  BMI is one indicator for obesity, which is a critical risk factor for hypertension.

Those are just a handful of flaws in this latest study.  So if you’re concerned about your real risk for hypertension or heart disease, what should you do?  Seek the guidance and heed the advice of your physician. And if you’re interested in reading more on this study, you can check out a statement from ABA’s Dr. Maureen Storey.