sugar levels and a 32% greater chance of developing lower "good" cholesterol levels. The Nurses' Health Study found that women who drank more than two sugary beverages per day had a 40% higher risk of heart attacks or death from heart disease than women who rarely drank sugary beverages. You're Probably Also Less Healthy In Other Ways: Several studies, including the 2007 study published in Circulation , suggest that diet sodas have some of the same effects on health as regular sodas, despite having none or very little of the sugar. Why? Drinking soda is typically part of an overall lifestyle that's not very healthy: We know you don't like us to compare drinking caffeine and sugar to substance abuse, but when it comes to your lifestyle, some think that soda is just like a gateway drug. "Soda is like a gateway drug", are you freaking kidding me? What, you think if you give kids a coke the next thing you know they'll be stuffing their faces with as much KFC as they can get their hands on? Honestly, you junk food nazis make me sicker than all the high fructose corn syrup in the world... anon This article is misleading, it bases everything solely on how many cokes the participants have. Obviously heavy coke drinkers are victims of many other bad dietary habits that are the main cause for these health risks. rk 10 pounds over 4 years ? are you kidding...that you call fatter. it is so less