Bad beverage habits not limited to alcohol

The condition is unrelated to alcohol consumption and occurs when fat inundates the liver cells, hindering their normal functioning.

"Our study adds to a growing body of research suggesting that sugar-sweetened beverages may be linked to NAFLD and other chronic diseases including diabetes and cardiovascular disease," says first author Jiantao Ma, Ph.D., a graduate of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University.

In the study, 2,634 middle-aged men and women who were mostly Caucasian self-reported their consumption of caffeinated and caffeine-free colas, other carbonated, sugar-sweetened beverages and non-carbonated fruit drinks.

Next, the amount of fat in participants' livers was measured by means of computerized tomography (CT) scans.

Individuals who reported drinking more than one sugar-sweetened beverage per day had a higher rate of NAFLD than their abstaining counterparts, according to the study, though this study did not establish causality.

The presence of NAFLD was defined according to conventional medical standards, and the link persisted after the research team took sex, age, body mass index (BMI) and lifestyle factors into account.

Participants self-reported their calorie intake, smoking and alcohol habits and the link remained between sugar-sweetened beverages and NAFLD after the researchers adjusted their data accordingly.

The study, published in the Journal of Hepatology, found no association between diet soda and NAFLD.

The authors, who plan to investigate a potential causality with further research, suggest saving sugar-sweetened beverages for special occasions.

NAFLD is the most common liver disorder in Western industrialized nations, according to a 2014 study.

Data presented at the 2011 International Liver CongressTM indicated that NAFLD could soon reach epidemic proportions in the US.

In that study, researchers analyzed a decade's worth of data and concluded that the condition would affect 50 percent of the population by 2030.

Their data involved 39,500 adults, and they found cases had doubled between 1988 and 2008.

"If the obesity epidemic is anything to go by, the U.S. NAFLD epidemic may have a ripple effect worldwide," said Mark Thursz of the European Association for the Study of the Liver, who conducted the research.