Regular consumption of sugary sodas and fruit juices during childhood increases the likelihood of developing high blood pressure decades later, reports infohub.kz.
The findings, published in the journal Circulation, come from a 25-year study involving 25,749 participants. Researchers from the University of Toronto and the Harvard School of Public Health analyzed the participants' diets starting at ages 9 to 16.
People who consumed two or more servings of sugary drinks per day had a 52% higher risk of developing hypertension compared to those who drank them less than three times a week. Each daily serving of soda increased the risk by 23%.
High consumption of fruit juice (1.5 servings per day or more) was associated with a 35% increase in risk. Meanwhile, mathematical modeling showed that replacing one daily serving of a sugary drink or juice with whole fruit reduced the likelihood of developing the disease by 19% to 22%.
Senior author Vasanti Malik emphasizes that the total amount of fructose is less critical for blood pressure than its source, so experts recommend choosing whole fruits and plain water.