Excess sugar, heavy metals found in soft drinks

Researchers have found excessive use of sugar, the presence of heavy metals and high levels of caffeine in several soft and energy drinks widely sold in the country's market, which medical experts say lead to various non-communicable diseases.

They collected samples of 10 brands of soft drinks and five energy drinks from different parts of Dhaka city and found evidence of sugar being used more than double the permissible level in six of the brands.

The study, "Health-compromising ingredients in fizzy drinks available in the markets of Dhaka city, Bangladesh", also found evidence of heavy metals in every brand, although there is no scope of heavy metal being present in any beverage.

Worse, one of the five energy drink brands has been found to contain high levels of caffeine.

A group of physicians from the public health and informatics department at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) conducted the study in collaboration with the National Institute of Preventive and Social Medicine (Nipsom) and the Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR).

Fortune Journals, a food science and nutrition research publishing platform, recently published the findings.

One of the researchers, Dr Md Khalequzzaman, an associate professor at the BSMMU's Department of Public Health and Informatics, told The Business Standard, "After testing some of the popular soft drinks widely sold in the Dhaka city, we have found the presence of sugar at an excessive level."

"The sugar level was so high that if anyone imbibed a soft drink weighing 250ml, it would not be proper for him to eat apples or any kind of fruits or sweet food that day," he added.

The study results will be officially published on 14 February at the BSMMU.

The study found the presence of 20.8-28.8 grams of sugar in several soft drinks while it amounted to 22.6-37 grams in energy drinks.

That exceeds the required level of a person's daily sugar intake. That means they should not take sugar intake from any other source on that day.

According to World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, the amount of sugar for adults and children should be below 10% of their daily energy intake. But researchers say the rate at which sugar is used in drinks is much higher than the permissible limit.

Meanwhile, according to the rules and guidelines of the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI), the level of caffeine in energy drinks cannot exceed 145ppm, while the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allows it up to 200ppm.

But the concern is that this study found high levels of caffeine in energy drinks. A maximum of 321.7ppm caffeine was found in a brand while the rest contained it beyond the permissible limit.

However, the more alarming picture that has emerged from the study is the presence of heavy metals like lead and chromium in all types of drinks.

The levels of both heavy metals were found to be higher than the maximum allowable limit recommended by Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) and WHO.

Professor Dr Sohel Reza Choudhury, who heads the Department of Epidemiology and Research at the National Heart Foundation Hospital and Research Institute, told TBS, "Beverages usually contain sugar at higher levels. That is why drinking these items lead to weight gains, which in turn increases the risk of various non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as diabetes and hypertension."

Obesity is on the rise among children due to consumption of fast food and cold drinks with extra sugar since childhood, he added.

Professor Choudhury said, "Besides, soft drinks get riskier if they contain heavy metals like lead. If there are heavy metals in foods, the brain development of children is hampered and IQ does not develop."

"Excess salty and sugary fast food and soft drinks should be avoided to prevent NCDs," he added.

Excessive consumption of sugary and salty fast food and soft drinks is increasing incidences of NCDs in the country, such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Every year more than 70% of the people in the country die of non-communicable diseases.

According to WHO, there are currently more than 70 lakh diabetics in Bangladesh and about 20,000 children are suffering from diabetes.

Researchers say a large number of children have developed the habit of taking these drinks. Experts believe that this is a major cause of diabetes.

Over the last two decades, excessive weight has emerged as a major issue of concern as the number of children affected by it increased 2.5 times, as per the 2021 edition of the Unicef, WHO and the World Bank's Joint Malnutrition Estimates (JME) report released on 4 April 2021.

In 2020, an estimated 2.1% or 0.30 million children in the country were overweight, meaning they were heavier than what is considered normal for their height, while it was just 0.7% or 0.11 million in 2000.