Consumption of Sugar Sweetened Beverages (SSBs) and Breast Cancer: A Narrative Review

Abstract

Sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs) have become a cause of concern because of their growing consumption levels across age groups and associated chronic diseases such as diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases and cancers. The aim of this review was to provide a detailed profile of the SSBs trends and associated health risk, with special focus on its role in breast cancer development. A review of current literature has depicted increased in-takes of SSBs across the globe with servings ranging from 3 to 11 per day in different countries, while children, adolescents and young adults report the highest intake levels. These increased intakes further contribute to different metabolic diseases via increased body adiposity, blood glucose and insulin levels, and increased post-menopausal estrogen levels, all of which contribute to chronic diseases, including cancers. Nutrition interventions including ones that target SSBs reduction seem to have a positive impact on reducing the development of these non-communicable diseases and are also associated with better prognosis and survival chances in cancer patients. However, the implementation of SSBs taxation and mass awareness campaign interventions remains poor due to lack of policy development and regulation for these beverages. The control of SSBs intake across the world requires rigorous research to construct efficient and practical policies to reduce the accessibility and marketing of SSBs while simultaneously increasing awareness in the public regarding the health risks of these beverages. To achieve this, a coordinated approach involving different public and private sectors is needed.

Keywords: Breast cancer; Chronic diseases; Health policy; Nutrition; Sugar sweetened beverages.