Soft Drink Consumption Is Positively Associated with Increased Waist Circumference and 10-Year Incidence of Abdominal Obesity in Spanish Adults

Background: The accumulation of abdominal fat increases risk of metabolic disorders and premature death. There is a dearth of prospective data on the association between caloric beverage consumption and surrogate markers of abdominal adiposity. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the relation between consumption of nonalcoholic caloric beverages, including soft drinks, fruit juice,. whole milk, and skim and low-fat milk, and changes in waist circumference (WC) and odds of 10-y incidence of abdominal obesity. Methods: We conducted a prospective, population-based study of 2181 Spanish men and women aged 25-74 y who were followed from 2000 to 2009. We measured weight, height, and WC, and recorded data on diet and leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) with the use of validated questionnaires. We fit multivariable linear and logistic regression models. Results: A 100 kcal increase in soft drink consumption was associated with a 1.1 cm increase in WC (P = 0.018) after 10 y of follow-up. Substitution of 100 kcal of soft drinks with 100 kcal of whole milk or 100 kcal of juice was associated with a 1.3 cm (95% CI: 0.3, 2.4) and 1.1 cm (95% CI: 0.03, 2.2) decrease in WC, respectively. Increasing consumption of soft drinks from baseline to follow-up led to WC gain compared with maintaining nonconsumption. Greater soft drink consumption was positively associated (P = 0.029) with increased odds of 10-y incidence of abdominal obesity. Conclusion: Adults' consumption of soft drinks was associated with increased WC and odds of 10-y incidence of abdominal obesity. This association was moderate but consistent in all statistical models.