A sweet tooth is linked to a higher risk of depression, diabetes and stroke, research shows

People with a preference for sweets are at greater risk of developing depression, diabetes and stroke, according to new research from the University of Surrey.

The study, published in the Journal of Translational Medicinetook anonymised information about the food preferences of 180,000 volunteers within the UK Biobank and used artificial intelligence to group them into three general profiles:

• Health conscious: prefer fruits and vegetables over animal and sweet foods.
• Omnivore: Enjoys most foods, including meat, fish and some vegetables, as well as sweets and desserts.
• Sweet tooth: Prefers sweet foods and sugary drinks and is less interested in healthier options such as fruits and vegetables.

The Surrey team looked at data from the British Biobank on blood samples that measured 2,923 proteins and 168 metabolites to see how these levels changed in each group.

Proteins are the body’s workhorses, doing everything from fighting infections to muscle contractions and thinking. Metabolites are small molecules produced during digestion and other chemical processes in the body, and they can tell us a lot about how well our bodies are functioning.

By comparing these blood-based proteins and metabolites, the researchers were able to get a clearer picture of the biological differences between the groups.

Professor Nophar Geifman, lead author of the study and professor of health and biomedical informatics at the University of Surrey, said: “The foods you like or don’t like appear to be directly linked to your health. If your favorite foods are cakes, sweets, and sugary drinks, the results of our research suggest that this could have negative consequences for your health.

“We found that the sweet-tooth group was 31% more likely to have depression. We also found that the sweet-tooth group had higher rates of diabetes, as well as vascular heart disease, compared to the other two groups.

“Importantly, by using data-driven artificial intelligence methods, we were able to identify groups of people defined by their food preferences, and these groups are meaningful because they are linked to health outcomes and biological markers.

“Processed sugar is a key factor in the diets of many, and these results are further evidence that as a society we must do all we can to think before we eat, emphasizing that no one wants to tell people what to doing.” Our job is just to inform people.”

The researchers also looked at the differences between the three groups in standard blood biochemical tests.

Professor Geifman says: ‘In the sweet-tooth group they had higher levels of C-reactive protein, which is a marker of inflammation. Their blood results also show higher levels of glucose and poor lipid profiles, which are a strong warning sign of diabetes and diabetes. heart disease.”

Conversely, the health-conscious group, which also had a higher dietary fiber intake, had a lower risk of heart failure, chronic kidney disease and stroke, while the omnivore group had moderate health risks.

According to the British Nutrition Foundation, on average in Britain between 9% and 12.5% ​​of an individual’s calories come from free sugar. This is defined as sugar added to food or drink. Cookies, rolls, cakes, pastries and fruit pies make the largest contribution for adults, but together sugary soft drinks and alcoholic drinks contribute the most to free sugar intake.