Childhood Sweet-Drink Habits Linked to High Blood Pressure Later in Life
Those who drank more than two servings of sodas, sports drinks, or juices had a higher risk for developing hypertension.
About half of US adults have high blood pressure. Could the sugar-sweetened beverages and fruit juice they consumed in childhood have shaped their later-in-life blood pressure risk?
That’s the implication of a major Harvard study, published online June 22, 2026, by Circulation. Researchers analyzed health data from 25,749 participants in the Growing Up Today Study (GUTS) — a survey tracking how youth habits affect lifelong health. The participants — 55% females, and about age 12 when they enrolled — were followed for up to 25 years, with food records collected every one to four years.
The results showed that people who drank the largest quantity of sugary beverages — two or more servings a day of sodas, sports drinks, and fruit juices — had a 52% higher risk of developing hypertension by the end of the study compared with those who rarely drank them (fewer than three servings per week). Specifically, for each additional average daily serving of soda, there was a 23% higher risk; with each additional sports drink serving there was a 36% higher risk. Heavy fruit juice drinkers (1.5 or more servings a day) had a 35% higher risk than infrequent drinkers.
But higher intakes of whole fruit were not linked to increased blood pressure risk — likely because whole fruits are processed differently by the body compared with juices, said the researchers. They estimated that replacing one daily serving of a sugary drink with water could result in a 9% lower hypertension risk; risk reductions from replacing sugary drinks with milk (13%) or whole fruit (22%) were also significant.
Because this study was observational, it can’t directly prove that cutting back on sugary drinks earlier in life will lower blood pressure later. It also focused on younger people, so it may not apply to older adults. But the findings align with other research, suggesting the switch might yield health benefits at any age.
Reference: Nguyen M, AlEssa HB, Glenn AJ, et al. Consumption of fructose-containing food and beverage sources in childhood through to adulthood and risk of hypertension: a prospective cohort study. Circulation. 2026. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.125.077666
This article has been republished from the following materials. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source. Our press release publishing policy can be accessed here.
Add Technology Networks as a preferred Google source to see more of our trusted coverage.
