Though there has been a long standing opposition to the habit of hard drinks for decades but from now on we should also be cautious about the consumption of soft drinks too. It has come out from a meticulous study that the middle aged adults infatuated with the drinking of more than one soft drink per day possess a tendency of having more than 40 percent greater rate regarding the development of metabolic syndrome, one of the most vital reasons behind the increases of the risk of heart disease.   The investigative study was undertaken by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, a distinguished component of the National Institutes of Health.

But what is the essence of metabolic syndrome? In general, a person is considered to have metabolic syndrome if he or she tends to have three or more of the commonly accepted five risk factors. They include waist circumference greater than or equal to 35 inches (women) or 40 inches (men), fasting blood glucose of greater than or equal to 100 mg/dL, triglycerides greater than or equal to 150 mg/dL; blood pressure greater than or equal to 135/85 mmHg, and HDL "good" cholesterol below 40mg/dL for men or below 50 mg/dL for women.

Speaking on this Dr. Elizabeth G. Nabel, M.D., the respected Director of NHLBI said, "Other studies have shown that the extra calories and sugar in soft drinks contribute to weight gain, and therefore heart disease risk. This study echoes those findings by extending the link to all soft drinks and the metabolic syndrome."

It has also come to the knowledge that while there is a general acknowledgement among the prominent researchers of the study group about the increased risk of metabolic syndrome related with high-calorie, high-sugar regular soft drinks, a similar type of risk is found among the consumers of the diet sodas but is certainly of a more challenging aptitude. It is to be taken notice of in this respect that dietary patterns happen to be the same from corner to corner of the drinkers proficient in soft drinks, both regular and diet.

While talking with Dr. Ramachandran Vasan, M.D, Professor of Medicine at Boston School of Medicine, and senior author of the paper, he said, "Although our study adjusted for lifestyle factors, it is known that people who regularly drink soft drinks — even diet sodas — are also known to eat foods that are higher in calories and fat, and get less physical activity."