A Single Artificially Sweetened Soft Drink Daily May Increase Diabetes Risk By More Than a Third

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by MedicalXpress.

An Australian study has found that drinking just one can of artificially-sweetened soft drink a day may increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 38%.

Surprisingly, that risk for artificially sweetened soft drink is even higher than for those who consume sugar-sweetened beverages, such as regular soft drinks, where the risk was found to be 23% higher.

The research, conducted by a team from Monash University together with RMIT University and the Cancer Council Victoria, followed more than 36,000 Australian adults over nearly 14 years.

The study, published in Diabetes & Metabolism, adds to growing global concern about the health effects of both sugary and artificially sweetened drinks.

“Drinking one or more of these beverages each day—whether sweetened with sugar or artificial substitutes—was linked to a significantly higher chance of developing type 2 diabetes,” said researcher Hussen Kabthymer.

Professor Barbora de Courten, senior author on the study, said the findings challenge the common assumption that artificially sweetened beverages are a safer choice.

“Artificial sweeteners are often recommended to people at risk of diabetes as a healthier alternative, but our results suggest they may pose their own health risks,” she said.

While the link between sugary drinks and diabetes could largely be explained by obesity, the connection between artificially-sweetened drinks and type 2 diabetes remained strong even after adjusting for body weight, suggesting a potentially direct effect on metabolism.

Source: MedicalXpress
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-07-artificially-sweetened-soft-daily-diabetes.html