Sugary drinks are any beverages with added sugar that is high in calories. This includes:
- Soda, like Coke, Pepsi, Mountain Dew, and Sprite
- Fruit drinks (not 100% juice), like Kool Aid, Hugs, and Hi-C.
- Iced teas and sweet teas, like Snapple, Arizona, Nestea, SoBe,
Honest, Sweet Leaf, and Tazo - Energy drinks, like Monster, Red Bull, and Rockstar
- Sports drinks, like Gatorade and Powerade
- Flavored water, like Vitamin Water
Diet sodas and other non-caloric (zero calorie), artificially sweetened beverages are NOT sugary drinks, including drinks sweetened with:
- Aspartame (Nutrasweet)
- Sucralose (Splenda)
- Stevia (PureVia, rebiana)
Frequently Asked Questions
Are there different types of sugar in drinks?
Yes, there are many different names for added sugar in sugary drinks. They are all very similar and make sugary drinks high in calories, including:
- High fructose corn syrup
- Sucrose
- Fructose
- Glucose
- Brown Sugar
- Dextrose
- Cane sugar
- Invert sugar
Why do we drink so many sugary drinks?
- Beverage companies spend billions of dollars to advertise their products on TV and the internet, in magazines and newspapers, and on billboards and vending machines. They particularly target young people with advertising and create specific ad campaigns to reach African Americans and Latinos.
Learn more: Sugar Water Gets a Facelift - Sugary drinks are available everywhere: corner stores, vending machines, restaurants, pharmacies, cafeterias, and workplaces (even in hospitals and doctors' offices).
- Sugary drinks are cheap and have become cheaper when compared to healthier drinks such as milk, which have increased sharply in price.
- Portion sizes have become larger and larger, so that instead of buying an 8-ounce bottle, we are now buying 44-ounce Big Gulps!
Learn more: Beverage Intake in the United States - As we drink more sugary drinks and drink them at an earlier age, we get used to foods that are very sweet. This can make less-sweet foods and beverages taste less appealing.
How do sugary drinks affect my health?
Sugary drinks are full of empty calories. Most have no nutritional value—like vitamins, minerals, calcium, or protein. And they don't make you feel full. You can drink a large sugary drink and then still feel hungry.
One 20-ounce soda (the plastic bottles usually sold in vending machines) has 240 calories. All these empty calories lead to weight gain. If you drink just one soda per day and keep eating as you normally would, you would drink nearly 90,000 calories in a year and gain 25 pounds!
Sugary drinks are linked to a variety of health problems:
- Unhealthy weight (obesity)
- Type 2 diabetes
- Heart disease
- Cavities (dental caries)
- Weak bones (osteoporosis)
Learn more: Liquid Candy: How soft drinks are harming America's health
Can sugary drinks lead to type 2 diabetes?
Yes. In fact, one recent study showed that people who drink 1-2 servings per day were 26% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who never have sugary drinks.
Other than having a family member with diabetes, being overweight is the biggest risk factor for developing diabetes. And, since sugary drinks are full of empty calories and so common, they can lead to obesity.
There are two types of diabetes:
- Type 1 diabetes occurs when the body does not make insulin (the hormone that controls blood sugar levels). It generally affects children and adolescents and is a lifelong disease. It is a genetic disease that cannot be prevented. People need to take insulin to control the level of sugar in their blood.
- Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body does not respond to insulin (the hormone that controls blood sugar levels). It generally affects people who are overweight or obese but genetics are also part of the cause. Having a family member with type 2 diabetes increases a person's chance of developing the disease.
In the past, type 2 diabetes affected only adults but is now becoming more common in children because of obesity. Most people need pills (oral medications) to control their diabetes. Some people can control their diabetes by eating more healthfully, exercising, and losing weight.
Learn more about diabetes.
Where can I find out more?
- The Health Consequences of Sugary Sweetned Beverages
- Energy drinks fact sheet
- Spotting added sugar on food labels.
- WHYY FIT Webchat with Chef Ann Cooper about sugary drinks
- CDC - Rethink your drink
- Liquid Candy: How soft drinks are harming America's health
- Sugar Water Gets a Facelift
- Food Marketing to Youth
- Beverage Intake in the United States
- The Evolution of Eating: A food timeline
