Soda Can Kill You in 7 Ways

Many Americans have taken to heart the onslaught of studies indicating that drinking sodas is bad for their health. Consumption has been steadily decreasing during the past decade, and the downward trend continues. A recent Gallup poll found that 63 percent of people "actively" tried to avoid soda compared to only 41 percent in 2002.

The average American still drinks gallons of the sweet stuff — an average of 45 gallons a year, and we still drink twice as much as we did 30 years ago. Studies increasingly show its deadly effects, from our expanding waistlines to the epidemic of diabetes sweeping the country. Research published this month by the University at California at San Francisco found even more bad news: Sugary sodas shorten your life by shortening telomeres, which are the caps that protect DNA by keeping chromosomes from unraveling.

Researchers studied DNA from more than 5,300 volunteers ages 20 to 65. They found that drinking 20 ounces of soda a day shortened telomeres to the equivalent of an additional 4.6 years of aging, comparable to the effect of smoking.

Seven health problems linked to soft drinks include:

1. Obesity.

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