Sugary drinks were associated with adolescent anxiety, without proving a cause
Greater sugary-drink consumption was linked to higher odds of anxiety disorders, although some studies found no statistically significant association.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Adolescents who drank more sugar-sweetened beverages tended to have more anxiety in the included studies. The pooled estimate concerned the odds of an anxiety disorder, not the chance that reducing sugary drinks would prevent one. Most studies measured intake and anxiety at the same time, leaving the direction of the relationship unresolved.
This abstract-based evidence comes from observational studies and cannot establish cause and effect. The abstract does not report intake cutoffs, absolute anxiety rates or a common timeframe for the pooled estimate.
What researchers found
Anxiety disorder, classified as present or absent
Higher intake was linked to 1.34 times the odds at an unspecified reference intake; pooled timing unreported. Odds compare the chance of having the disorder with the chance of not having it.
A mixed pattern
Most studies linked greater drink intake with more anxiety, while some found no statistically significant relationship. Longitudinal studies reported small, persistent associations, but these still cannot show that beverage intake caused anxiety.
What the pooled result measures
The pooled result included only studies recording anxiety disorder as present or absent. Other analyses examined symptom scores, so the odds ratio does not describe how much someone's anxiety symptoms changed.
The original publication
Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption and Anxiety Disorders in Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Khaled K, Abdulbaki N, Almilaji O et al.
J Hum Nutr Diet · 2026
- PubMed ID
- 41664940
- Record checked
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