See related article, pp 695-701I n the last few years a significant number of studies have been published linking consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) with obesity, hypertension, and other metabolic disturbances. The term "SSBs" includes sodas (carbonated beverages, eg, colas), along with fruit drinks, lemonade, and iced tea. Findings from large cross-sectional studies, in conjunction with those from well-powered prospective cohort studies with long periods of follow-up, show a positive association between greater intakes of SSBs and obesity in both children and adults. 1 Findings from few short-term feeding trials in adults also support an induction of positive energy balance and weight gain by intake of sugarsweetened sodas. 1 Consumption of SSBs, particularly carbonated soft drinks, may be a key contributor to the epidemic of overweight and obesity, by virtue of the high added sugar content, the reduced satiety response, and the promotion of a positive energy balance by liquid calories relative to isoenergetic solid calories. Moreover, increased SSB intake in US adolescents 2 and young adults 3 was shown to be independently associated with insulin resistance-associated metabolic parameters, including increased homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance index, 2 waist circumference, 2,3 body mass index, 2 low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides, 3 and decreased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations. 2 These cross-sectional studies also reported positive association between intake of SSB and elevated blood pressure (BP) 2 or prevalence of hypertension. 3 Furthermore, 2 large prospective studies reported the positive association between SSB consumption and the incidence of hypertension. The investigators of the Nurses' Health Study observed a strong positive association between cola beverage intake, assessed by food frequency questionnaire (usual intake 1 year before the examination) and incident physician-diagnosed hypertension in a large cohort of 155 594 US women followed up over 12 years (P for trend Ͻ0.001). 4 Data from the Framingham Offspring Study demonstrated that consumption of soft drinks (regular and diet soda combined, amount assessed based on the self-administered food frequency questionnaire) were associated with an increased, although not statistically significant, risk of incident high BP (BP Ն135/ 85 mm Hg or treatment for hypertension), with odds ratio of 1.18 (95% CI: 0.96 to 1.44) for those consuming Ն1 serving of soft drink per day. 5 Moreover, the analysis of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999 -2004) data among adolescents (12 to 18 years of age) found a positive association between SSB consumption and BP analyzed as a continuous variable. 6 The recent prospective analysis of 810 adults with prehypertension and stage I hypertension, who participated in the PREMIER Study (an 18-month behavioral intervention trial), showed a positive association between change in SSB consumption (measured by 2 unannounced 24-hour recalls) and...