Drinking one or more sugary beverages a day was associated with a nearly 20% greater likelihood of women having a cardiovascular disease compared to women who rarely or never drank sugary beverages, according to new research1 published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open access journal of the American Heart Association.

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In the large, ongoing California Teachers Study, which began in 1995, drinking one or more of any type of sugary beverage daily was associated with a 26% higher likelihood of needing a revascularisation procedure, such as angioplasty to open clogged arteries, and a 21% higher likelihood of having a stroke compared to women who rarely or never drank sugary beverages. Sugary beverages in this study were defined as caloric soft drinks, sweetened bottled waters or teas and sugar-added fruit drinks, not 100% fruit juices.

The study included more than 106,000 women, with an average age of 52, who had not been diagnosed with heart disease, stroke or diabetes when they enrolled in the study.