Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Intake, Abdominal Obesity, and Inflammation among US Adults without and with Prediabetes—An NHANES Study

Abstract

Excessive sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) consumption and abdominal obesity have been independently linked to numerous disorders, including diabetes and elevated C-reactive protein (CRP). This study aimed to explore the association between SSB intake, abdominal obesity, and inflammation in normal and prediabetic adults. Sugar intake from SSBs was calculated from 24-h dietary recalls and further classified into non-, medium-, and high-intake. The status of non- and prediabetes was identified based on hemoglobin A1c level. All analyses were performed under a survey module with appropriate sampling weights to control for the complex survey design. A total of 5250 eligible adults without diabetes were selected from the 2007–2010 NHANES. A 1.31-fold increased risk of developing prediabetes was observed in people who consumed high sugar from SSBs when compared to non-SSB consumers. Among individuals with prediabetes, adults who consumed a high amount of sugar from SSB had a 1.57-fold higher risk to increase CRP when compared to non-SSB consumers, even after adjusting for abdominal obesity. Furthermore, the association between the high amount of sugar intake from SSBs and elevated CRP was strengthened by abdominal obesity in prediabetes (p for interaction term = 0.030). Our findings highlight that a positive association between sugar intake from SSBs and CRP levels was only observed in US adults with prediabetes. Abdominal obesity may strengthen this effect in prediabetic adults with a high amount of sugar intake from SSBs.

Sugar-sweetened beverage intake and long-term mortality in individuals with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease: a longitudinal analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey database

“…The times and occasions for each food item were also obtained. This approach to calculate the amount of SSB intake was in line with previous NHANES studies [17,18].…”

Association between serum copper and blood glucose: a mediation analysis of inflammation indicators in the NHANES (2011–2016)

“…Accumulating evidence supports the role of inflammation in the abnormal changes in blood glucose (34). Lin et al (35) revealed the relationship between excessive intake of sugary drinks and abdominal obesity with diabetes and the elevation of C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, emphasizing the positive correlation between sugar intake and CRP levels in adults with prediabetes. Moreover, Mi et al (36) found that the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) is positively associated with insulin resistance in adults of normal and healthy weight, highlighting the potential value of anti-inflammatory diets in the prevention or management of insulin resistance.…”

Sugar sweetened beverages, natural fruit juices, and cancer: what we know and what still needs to be assessed

“…Sweetened beverages can increase inflammatory biomarkers through their obesity-induced effects. Also, some studies have shown that the positive association between SSBs and inflammatory biomarkers can occur independently of obesity ( 45 ). Given the inflammatory nature of colorectal cancer, SSBs-induced inflammation may adversely affect the prognosis of patients.…”