To test the hypothesis that more frequent consumption of sugar-sweetened soft drinks would be associated with increased risk of obesity-related cancers. Associations for artificially sweetened soft drinks were assessed for comparison.

Prospective cohort study with cancers identified by linkage to cancer registries. At baseline, participants completed a 121-item FFQ including separate questions about the number of times in the past year they had consumed sugar-sweetened or artificially sweetened soft drinks. Anthropometric measurements, including waist circumference, were taken and questions about smoking, leisure-time physical activity and intake of alcoholic beverages were completed.

The Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study (MCCS) is a prospective cohort study which recruited 41 514 men and women aged 40–69 years between 1990 and 1994. A second wave of data collection occurred in 2003–2007.

Data for 35 593 participants who developed 3283 incident obesity-related cancers were included in the main analysis.

Increasing frequency of consumption of both sugar-sweetened and artificially sweetened soft drinks was associated with greater waist circumference at baseline. For sugar-sweetened soft drinks, the hazard ratio (HR) for obesity-related cancers increased as frequency of consumption increased (HR for consumption >1/d v. <1/month=1·18; 95 % CI 0·97, 1·45; P-trend=0·007). For artificially sweetened soft drinks, the HR for obesity-related cancers was not associated with consumption (HR for consumption >1/d v. <1/month=1·00; 95 % CI 0·79, 1·27; P-trend=0·61).

Our results add to the justification to minimise intake of sugar-sweetened soft drinks.

To examine demographic and behavioural correlates of high consumption of soft drinks (non-alcoholic sugar-sweetened carbonated drinks excluding energy drinks) among Australian adolescents and to explore the associations between high consumption and soft drink perceptions and accessibility.

Cross-sectional self-completion survey and height and weight measurements.

Australian secondary schools.

Students aged 12–17 years participating in the 2012–13 National Secondary Students’ Diet and Activity (NaSSDA) survey (n 7835).

Overall, 14 % of students reported consuming four or more cups (≥1 litres) of soft drinks each week (‘high soft drink consumers’). Demographic factors associated with high soft drink consumption were being male and having at least $AU 40 in weekly spending money. Behavioural factors associated with high soft drink consumption were low fruit intake, consuming energy drinks on a weekly basis, eating fast foods at least once weekly, eating snack foods ≥14 times/week, watching television for >2 h/d and sleeping for <8 h/school night. Students who perceived soft drinks to be usually available in their home, convenient to buy and good value for money were more likely to be high soft drink consumers, as were students who reported usually buying these drinks when making a beverage purchase from the school canteen/vending machine.

High soft drink consumption clusters with other unhealthy lifestyle behaviours among Australian secondary-school students. Interventions focused on reducing the availability of soft drinks (e.g. increased taxes, restricting their sale in schools) as well as improved education on their harms are needed to lower adolescents’ soft drink intake.

To investigate the associations of BMI and overweight in adulthood with consumption of sweets and sugar-sweetened soft drinks in childhood and with the change in consumption between childhood and adulthood.

Longitudinal 21-year follow-up study of Finnish children and adolescents from childhood to adulthood.

The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study, comprising participants from both eastern and western Finland.

Boys (n 967) and girls (n 1172) aged 3–18 years at baseline in 1980.

The increase in consumption of sugar-sweetened soft drinks from childhood to adulthood was directly associated with BMI in adulthood in women (b = 0·45, P = 0·0001) but not in men. In women, BMI increased by 0·45 kg/m2 for every 10-unit increase per month. Consumption of sweets and sugar-sweetened soft drinks in childhood and adolescence was not associated with BMI in adulthood. The change in consumption of sweets was not associated with BMI in adulthood. The increase in the consumption of sugar-sweetened soft drinks from childhood to adulthood was associated with being overweight (OR = 1·90, 95 % CI 1·38, 2·61) in women, but not in men. No association was found between overweight (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2) in adulthood and consumption of sweets in childhood or the change in consumption from childhood to adulthood.

We conclude that direct associations exist between adulthood overweight and BMI and an increase in consumption of sugar-sweetened soft drinks in women. Thus sugar-sweetened soft drinks consumption may be important when considering weight management in women.