Name: Sugary Drinks May Double Stomach Cancer Risk
Uploaded: 2026-08-20T12:10:03+00:00
Description: Drinking sugary beverages every day may double the risk of developing stomach cancer, according to a new study. Drinks with artificial sweeteners, however, did not show the same risk. Researchers said earlier studies had already linked sugar-sweetened drinks to higher rates of colorectal, breast and liver cancers, but evidence on stomach cancer had been limited until now.

Drinking sugary beverages every day may double the risk of developing stomach cancer, according to a new study. Drinks with artificial sweeteners, however, did not show the same risk. Researchers said earlier studies had already linked sugar-sweetened drinks to higher rates of colorectal, breast and liver cancers, but evidence on stomach cancer had been limited until now.

Drinking sugary beverages every day may double the risk of developing stomach cancer, according to a new study. Drinks with artificial sweeteners, however, did not show the same risk.

Researchers said earlier studies had already linked sugar-sweetened drinks to higher rates of colorectal, breast and liver cancers, but evidence on stomach cancer had been limited until now.

The study found that people who drank at least one sugary beverage a day faced twice the risk of stomach cancer compared with those who drank less than one serving a month.

Andrew Chan, the study’s author, said it was the first research to show an association between sugar-sweetened beverage intake and gastric cancer in a US population.

He said stomach cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer death worldwide, but little is known about how diet may contribute to the disease.

The study followed 112,000 people over several decades, during which 278 developed stomach cancer. The higher risk was seen in both men and women.

Most of the sugary drinks in the study were sweetened with fructose, which was linked to a higher rate of stomach cancer among participants.

Among women, those who drank more than one sugar-sweetened beverage a day, such as punch, lemonade or sports drinks, had nearly three times the risk of stomach cancer compared with women who rarely drank them.

By contrast, people who drank more artificially sweetened or low-calorie carbonated drinks did not show a higher risk.

Researchers noted that infection with Helicobacter pylori is known to increase the risk of gastric cancer. In the study, however, no association was found between sugar-sweetened beverage intake and H. pylori infection in the subset of participants examined.

They also said the study was observational, so it cannot prove that sugary drinks directly cause stomach cancer.

The researchers added that the study had limited data on participants’ H. pylori infection status and family history of stomach cancer.

Get the latest news, tech updates, telecom insights, and business stories wherever you prefer.

Add ProPakistani to Preferred Sources and see more of our stories in Google Search and Top Stories.