Results of Long‐Term Carcinogenicity Bioassays on Coca‐Cola Administered to Sprague‐Dawley Rats

Abstract

Coca‐Cola was invented in May 1886 in Atlanta, Georgia by a pharmacist who, by accident or design, mixed carbonated water with the syrup of sugar, phosphoric acid, caffeine, and other natural flavors to create what is known as “the world's favorite soft drink.” Coca‐Cola is currently sold in more than 200 countries and in early 2000, the company sold its 10 billionth unit case of Coca‐Cola branded products. Given the worldwide consumption of Coca‐Cola, a project of experimental bioassays to study its long‐term effects when administered as substitute for drinking water on male and female Sprague‐Dawley rats was planned and executed. The objective of the project was to study whether and how long‐term consumption of Coca‐Cola affects the basic tumorigram of test animals. The bioassays were performed on rats beginning at different ages, namely: (a) on males and females exposed since embryonic life or from 7 weeks of age; and (b) on males and females exposed from 30, 39, or 55 weeks of age. Overall, the project included 1999 rats. During the biophase, data were collected on fluid and feed consumption, body weight, and survival. Animals were kept under observation until spontaneous death and underwent complete necropsy. The results indicate: (a) an increase in body weight in all treated animals; (b) a statistically significant increase of the incidence in females, both breeders and offspring, bearing malignant mammary tumors; (c) a statistically significant increase in the incidence of exocrine ademonas of the pancreas in both male and female breeders and offspring; and (d) an increased incidence, albeit not statistically significant, of pancreatic islet cell carcinomas in females, a malignant tumor which occurs very rarely in our historical controls. On the basis of the results of this study, excessive consumption of regular soft‐drinks should be generally discouraged, in particular for children and adolescents.

Consumo de refrigerante reduz a ingestão de alimentos em ratos Wistar

“…Besides, other studies of the same research group found alterations in glucose, lipids, and body composition after 4 months of treatment with high levels of sugar intake [13,14]. As opposed to other studies [9,10], the present data show no differences in body composition, weight, or biochemical parameters, which may be credited to the absence of difference in total energy intake between groups. Furthermore, previous studies conducted experiments for longer periods, which may explain the difference in the present results, which were obtained from experimental conditions over 17 weeks.…”

“…Likewise, other authors have reported a decrease in the ingestion of solid food in animals that received caloric soft drinks [9][10][11][12] and other sucrose-rich artificial beverages, and an increase in total fluid consumption due to the consumption of these beverages [16,17].…”

“…However, studies that compared the effects of consuming fluids with caloric or non-caloric sweeteners have heterogeneous treatment periods [9][10][11][12]. Unlike studies that use adult rats, our goal was to start…”

“…Studies evaluating the effects of caloric soft drinks on eating habits are underway, and some of them suggest that caloric soft drinks influence the amount and quality of nutrient intake in humans, leading to a low-quality diet [2,7]. Besides the relationship between disease and diet quality, experimental studies have found that soft drink consumption is associated with a reduction in solid food intake [9][10][11].…”

Consumption Frequency of Fruit Juices and Sweetened Beverages: Differences Related to Age, Gender and the Prevalence of Overweight among Polish Adolescents

“…Sweetened beverages have a high content of sugars, including colorants, aromas, organic acids, preservatives and stimulants and carbonated beverages also contain carbon dioxide [Forshee et al, 2008]. Fruit juices and sweetened beverages, because of the high consumption, are an important source of fluid and energy in the diets of adolescents [Belpoggi et al, 2006;Malik et al, 2006;Mattes et al, 2011]. One of the three top sources of energy for 2-to 18-year-olds was soda (118 kcal/day), overall "sugar-sweetened beverages (soda and fruit drinks combined) provided 173 kcal/day" [Reedy & Krebs-Smith, 2010].…”