Sugar-sweetened beverages consumption is associated with abdominal obesity risk in diabetic patients.

Aim: Sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs) are any beverages containing added-sugar and supposed to increase body lipogenesis and fat accumulation in healthy subjects. This study was performed to assess the possible association between SSBs consumption and obesity in type 2 diabetes (T2DM) patients.

Methods: T2DM adults with no insulin treatment entered the study. Abdominal obesity and general adiposity were determined using waist circumference (WC) and body mass index (BMI), respectively. SSBs intake was extracted from a validated food frequency questionnaire.

Results: Mean SSBs intake was 0.6 serving/d (145.6mL/d). There was no considerable association between SSBs intake and gender. About 46% of patients consumed at least one serving of SSBs per week. SSBs consumption was correlated neither to WC nor to BMI. After adjustment for confounding factors, abdominal obesity was associated with drinking SSBs ≥1 serving/week (OR=4.93, 95% CI: 1.35-18.03), and SSB ≥3 serving/week (OR=5.07, 95% CI: 1.22-21.15) compared to those consumed <1 serving/week. This association was not found for general obesity (OR=0.88, 95% CI: 0.60-1.23). Ex-smokers had higher SSBs intake compared to those never smoked (OR=3.94, 95% CI=1.06-14.71). Energy intake and macronutrients were similar in both SSBs sub-groups. Mean daily energy supplied by SSBs was 120kcal in participants having ≥1 serving of SSBs/week and 2.7kcal in <1 serving SSBs/week (OR=1.14, 95% CI: 1.09-1.20). Lower SSBs drinkers had 17% higher fiber intake (OR=0.83, 95% CI=0.73-0.96).

Conclusion: SSBs intake might increase abdominal obesity in diabetic population and therefore should be considered in diabetes control procedure.