Sugar intake from sweet food and beverages, common mental disorder and depression: prospective findings from the Whitehall II study.

Lovers of sugar-sweetened beverages and foods may be at high risk of developing recurrent depression and common mental disorder.

​This research work investigated the link between the ingestion of sugar-sweetened foods and beverages and the propensity to come down with depression and common mental disorder (CMD). Researchers followed 23,245 men and women for 5 years, monitoring their diets and mental health. 

Researchers noticed that the odds of experiencing recurrent depression rose with higher intake of sugared foods and beverages in both men and women. In addition, men in the highest quartile of sugar-sweetened beverage and food consumption were observed to have a 23% greater risk of acquiring common mental disorder in this study. This study points to the detrimental effects of sugary beverages and foods on mental health.