An extra can of soda a day can pile on 15 pounds in a single year, and the weight of evidence strongly suggests that this sort of increased consumption is a key reason that more people have gained weight, the researchers say.
Thw work was funded by ongoing grants to his lab from the federal government and the American Heart Association.
Soft drink trends have marched lock-step with the growing obesity epidemic, but industry groups have long fought efforts to say one directly caused the other.
Not all studies conclude that beverages are at fault, and the new analysis ignored some that would have discounted such a link, the American Beverage Association said in a statement issued in response to the study.
"Blaming one specific product or ingredient as the root cause of obesity defies common sense."
"Instead, there are many contributing factors, including regular physical activity," says a statement from the group's senior science consultant, Richard Adamson. However, Dr. David Ludwig, director of the obesity program at Children's Hospital in Boston and a longtime advocate of curbs on soda, said blaming other factors misses the point.
