One pop a day ... greater heart risk

People opt Diet version of Coke, Pepsi and other soft drinks thinking that they are the healthy alternative. But a recent research finding show that diet or not all soft drinks are great risk to cause heart problem.
Those who drink one or more softdrinks a day had about a 50 per cent higher risk of metabolic syndrome - a cluster of risk factors such as excessive fat around the waist, low levels of "good" cholesterol, high blood pressure and other symptoms.

"When you have metabolic syndrome, your risk of developing heart disease or stroke doubles. You also have a risk of developing diabetes," said Dr Ramachandran Vasan of Boston University School of Medicine, whose work appears in the journal Circulation.
Healthy 6,000 middle-aged men and women were observed over four years to get the following result:

31 per cent greater risk of becoming obese (with a body mass index of 30 or more).
30 per cent increased risk of adding on belly fat.
25 per cent higher risk of developing high blood triglycerides or high blood sugar.
32 per cent higher risk of having low HDL levels.

"The simple message is eat healthy, exercise regularly and everything should be done in moderation. If you're a regular soda drinker you should be aware that this study adds to the evidence that regular soda may be associated with metabolic consequences."
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