Can your DNA reveal your Soda Consumption?
Many people enjoy a cold, bubbly soda on a hot day. However, if you are putting down three, four, or even five sodas a day, you may have a bit of an issue with soda consumption. Have you ever wondered why your daily soda consumption consists of a 12-pack or more week, while your friends may have a couple of sips and then leave the soda to go flat? You might be able to use your genetics as an excuse for that soda habit.
Guess what? Soft drink consumption may be strongly linked to genetics. Like with the Calorie Consumption trait, the Dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) gene is reportedly involved in soda consumption. That 2018 study by Ramos-Lopez et al. examined different sugar-rich foods. Just as a review, the study examined the differences in sugar intake and triglyceride levels among West Mexicans with differences at a specific locus of the DRD2 gene.
Because they found a significant difference in sugar intake between those with a specific genotype (the CC genotype of the DRD2 gene) and those with other genotypes (the CT or TT gene variants), they examined further into sugar-rich foods that could be driving this significant association. Those with the CC genotype were found to be more frequent consumers of soda than those with the other genotypes: 80% of those with the CC variant reportedly drink soda at least 3 times a week, compared to less than 60% for those with either the CT or TT genotype.
Interestingly, other sugar-rich food intake did not vary between the different groups, which suggests that, at least in this Mexican population, the main difference in sugar intake is due to the amount of soda consumed.
This finding about daily soda consumption and its health outcomes may be able to inform how people who are prone to overconsuming soda can resist the craving and develop better health. People who are prone to heavy soft drink consumption had worse health outcomes even if they had the same amount of other sugary food as people who didn’t consume as much soda. This may indicate that these people really are especially vulnerable to the temptation of soda. Improving health doesn't mean they need to give up all sugary food. It may be that if they can just avoid daily soda consumption, they'll be on the road to better health outcomes.
While it would be great if everyone who over-consumes sugar could simply give it up and live healthier lives, the reality is that asking people to give up both soda and other sources of sugar may be unrealistic. However, telling people that just giving up soda can make a huge difference in their health may be more likely to prompt a behavior change.
If you know that you have genetics that point you towards sugar and particularly soda overindulgence, you may have more success in avoiding overconsumption.
Find Ramos-Lopez et al.'s study here if you want to learn more: https://europepmc.org/abstract/med/30008437
Ready to see whether your genotype predisposes you to that daily soda craving? Discover more on Genomelink!
