You know what a beer belly is, right? That saggy, baggy gut that we attribute to raising a stein of your favorite frosty beer all too often. But doctors these days are noticing a NEW kind of belly — the soda belly.
Researchers from the University of Minnesota believe that soda can increase your risk of developing metabolic syndrome. Symptoms of metabolic syndrome include:
- High blood sugar levels
- High cholesterol
- Belly fat
A study of nearly ten thousand adults between the ages of forty-five and sixty-four found that people who drink soda on a daily basis — even a single diet cola — were one-third more likely to develop metabolic syndrome than folks who avoided soda. That bursts my bubble… I’ve been a diet soda drinker for years. Living with a diabetic grandmother, it was easier to switch to diet than to buy two types of soda and hope she didn’t grab the wrong one.
More studies are needed to see if soda is the ONLY culprit when it comes to metabolic syndrome and the saggy “soda belly”. The folks who slurp sodas may also have bad health habits that could play a role in developing metabolic syndrome, including good old overeating.
So what should the soda drinkers do now? It wouldn’t hurt to cut back on soda and add more plain (healthy) water to do your diet. I have been cutting back on soda over the last year — right now I’m down to just one per day most of the time. But I can do better than that. I can swap to tea or iced tea (I’m not really a fan of coffee) for my morning jolt of caffeine. I can reach for a glass of water instead of a soda when I’m thirsty.
How about you? Can you commit to cutting back on soda — and hopefully saying goodbye to that soda belly?