Cited by 1,668Obesity, Physical Activity, DietDiet, Metabolism, and DiseaseNutrition, Health and Food Behavior

Sugar-sweetened beverages and weight gain in children and adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis

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Malik, Vasanti S, Pan, An, Willett, Walter C, Hu, Frank B·2013·The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

Abstract

Background The relation between sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and body weight remains controversial.Objective We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to summarize the evidence in children and adults.Design We searched PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases through March 2013 for prospective cohort studies and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that evaluated the SSB-weight relation. Separate meta-analyses were conducted in children and adults and for cohorts and RCTs by using random- and fixed-effects models.Results Thirty-two original articles were included in our meta-analyses: 20 in children (15 cohort studies, n = 25,745; 5 trials, n = 2772) and 12 in adults (7 cohort studies, n = 174,252; 5 trials, n = 292). In cohort studies, one daily serving increment of SSBs was associated with a 0.06 (95% CI: 0.02, 0.10) and 0.05 (95% CI: 0.03, 0.07)-unit increase in BMI in children and 0.22 kg (95% CI: 0.09, 0.34 kg) and 0.12 kg (95% CI: 0.10, 0.14 kg) weight gain in adults over 1 y in random- and fixed-effects models, respectively. RCTs in children showed reductions in BMI gain when SSBs were reduced [random and fixed effects: -0.17 (95% CI: -0.39, 0.05) and -0.12 (95% CI: -0.22, -0.2)], whereas RCTs in adults showed increases in body weight when SSBs were added (random and fixed effects: 0.85 kg; 95% CI: 0.50, 1.20 kg). Sensitivity analyses of RCTs in children showed more pronounced benefits in preventing weight gain in SSB substitution trials (compared with school-based educational programs) and among overweight children (compared with normal-weight children).Conclusion Our systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies and RCTs provides evidence that SSB consumption promotes weight gain in children and adults.

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  • Studies among children are more limited and have generally focused on weight gain and dental caries, as well as insulin resistance to a lesser extent.

    “Studies among children are more limited and have generally focused on weight gain [4] and dental caries [10], as well as insulin resistance to a lesser extent [11, 12].”
  • Evidence links SSB consumption among adults to weight gain, cardiovascular risk factors such as dyslipidemia, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

    “Evidence has emerged linking SSB consumption to a number of health consequences among adults including weight gain [4, 5], cardiovascular risk factors (e.g., dyslipidemia) [6], insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes [7, 8] and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease [9].”
  • Highest versus lowest sugar sweetened beverage consumption is associated with increased body weight (moderate quality, class IV evidence).

    “Moderate quality evidence suggested that the highest versus lowest dietary sugar consumption was associated with increased body weight (sugar sweetened beverages) (class IV evidence)”

    From Dietary sugar consumption and health: umbrella review (2023) · cites this paper as [53]

  • A one serving/day increment of sugar sweetened beverages is associated with a 0.22 kg weight gain in one year (WMD 0.22, 95% CI 0.09 to 0.34).

    “Dose-response analysis based on seven cohort studies showed that a one serving/day increment of sugar sweetened beverages was associated with a 0.22 kg weight gain in one year (weighted mean difference 0.22, 0.09 to 0.34).”

    From Dietary sugar consumption and health: umbrella review (2023) · cites this paper as [53]

  • Body mass index in children increases by 0.07 units for every one serving/day increment of sugar sweetened beverages (WMD 0.07, 95% CI 0.01 to 0.12) (low; IV).

    “The authors conducted a dose-response analysis and showed that body mass index in children increased by 0.07 units for every one serving/day increment of sugar sweetened beverages (weighted mean difference 0.07, 0.01 to 0.12) (low; IV).”

    From Dietary sugar consumption and health: umbrella review (2023) · cites this paper as [53]

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1 of the 85 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. Higgins JPT, Green S. Cochrane handbook for systematic reviews of interventions, version 5.1.0. Oxford, United Kingdom: The Cochrane Collaboration, 2011. Available from: http://handbook.cochrane.org/ (cited 27 May 2013).
  2. Hu FB. Obesity epidemiology. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2008.

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Authors
Malik, V. S., Pan, A., Willett, W. C., & Hu, F. B.
Affiliations
  • Brigham and Women's Hospital (US)
  • Harvard University (US)
Venue
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2013-10
Volume
98
Issue
4
Pages
1084-1102
ISSN
0002-9165 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2163234420
Cited by
1,668
References
85
Citations by year
2026: 59 · 2025: 95 · 2024: 82 · 2023: 119 · 2022: 143 · 2021: 164 · 2020: 181 · 2019: 174 · 2018: 165 · 2017: 156 · 2016: 118 · 2015: 128 · 2014: 75 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 1
FWCI
15.49
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (HL60712, R01HL060712)
  • National Cancer Institute (U54CA155626)
  • National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (R01DK058845, P30DK046200, P30 DK-46200, DK58845, T32DK007703)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Diet, Metabolism, and Disease
  • Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Nutrition, Health and Food Behavior
Keywords
sugar-sweetened beverages, weight gain, body mass index, children, adults, overweight children, school-based education programs, randomized controlled trials, prospective cohort
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Beverages, Child, Child, Preschool, Female, Humans, Male, Prospective Studies, Cohort Studies, Weight Gain, Bias, Body Mass Index, Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic, Dietary Sucrose

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