Drinking a lot of soft drinks may increase the risk for asthma and/or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a new study suggests.
Nearly 17,000 people aged 16 and older in South Australia were asked about their consumption of soft drinks such as Coke, flavored mineral water, lemonade, Powerade and Gatorade.

More than 10 percent of the participants said they drank more than half a liter of soft drinks a day, according to the study, published in the February issue of the journal Respirology. That's a little more than two 8-ounce glasses of soft drinks.
The researchers found that 13.3 percent of the participants with asthma and 15.6 percent of those with COPD consumed more than half a liter of soft drinks a day. People who consumed that amount were 1.2 times more likely to have asthma and 1.7 times more likely to have COPD than those who did not consume soft drinks, the researchers said.
 

Source: BNA