Science Explained/Brief
Daily sugary drinks linked to higher stomach cancer risk in large observational study
A decades-long study of more than 112,000 U.S. adults found that those who drank at least one sugar-sweetened beverage a day had roughly 2.45 times the risk of gastric cancer compared with those who rarely consumed them. The researchers stress the findings do not prove sugary beverages cause cancer.
BriefPublished 13 September 20261 min read1 linked source · 4 checked factsRevision 4
The study followed more than 112,000 U.S. adults over decades and compared gastric cancer risk between daily sugary-drink consumers and those who rarely drank them. The reported association was roughly 2.45 times higher risk.
Artificially sweetened drinks showed no similar association, the researchers report.
Because this is an observational study, the results cannot establish cause and effect. The researchers themselves note that the findings do not prove sugary beverages cause cancer.
Our view
This is a large observational study reporting an association rather than proof of causation, so it is a signal for further research rather than a settled risk factor.
What the reporting says: People who drank at least one sugar-sweetened beverage a day had roughly 2.45 times the risk of gastric cancer compared with those who rarely consumed them, based on a decades-long study of more than 112,000 U.S. adults, and that artificially sweetened drinks showed no similar association.