Sweetened beverage consumption and risk of metabolic syndrome in Mexican adults

Abstract

ObjectiveTo examine the relationship between Sweetened beverage (SB) consumption and components of metabolic syndrome (MS) in Mexican population.MethodsWe performed a cross‐sectional analysis of data from adults participating in the baseline assessment of the Health Workers Cohort Study in the Mexican States of Morelos and Mexico. Information on participants' socio‐demographic conditions, dietary patterns and physical activity were collected via self‐administered questionnaire. Anthropometric and clinical measures were assessed with standardized procedures. The definition of MS was determined using criteria from Adult Treatment III. The associations of interest were evaluated by means of lineal and logistic regression models.ResultsA total of 5,240 individuals aged 20 to 70 years (mean 34.4 years old; SD=11.5) were evaluated. Overweight/obesity prevalence was 56.6%. The prevalence of MS in this sample was 26.6%. We found that for each additional daily SB serving consumed, participants experienced an average increase of 43.2 mg/dL (CI 95%; 7.3 ‐ 79.1 mg/dL) in triglycerides and a decrease of HDL‐c by 12.2 mg/dL (CI 95%; ‐16.1 ‐ ‐8.6 mg/dL). Subjects consuming more than two servings/day of SB were at a 2.0 (CI 95%; 1.2‐3.1) times greater risk of MS than those who did not consume SB.ConclusionsOur data support the hypothesis that SB consumption increases the risk of MS in Mexican adults, possibility by providing excessive calories and large amounts of rapidly absorbable sugars.