Study shows soft drink consumption can take up to 4.6 years off life

A new study shows a link between daily sugary drink consumption and aging, according to International Business Times.

The study focused on telomere length in adults. Telomeres are found on the ends of chromosomes. As they become shorter, cells age and eventually die. In the study, researchers looked at telomere length on participants’ white blood cells.

Researchers noted that participants consumed a daily average of 12 ounces of soda. More soda consumption correlated with shorter telomere length.

From International Business Times:

“The effect of the daily consumption of 20 ounces of soda on telomere length was equal to 4.6 years of aging, which was ‘comparable to the effect of smoking.’”

Via: International Business Times > Soda as bad as smoking? New sugary drink study has some interesting preliminary results