Understanding the Complexity: How Many Sugar-Related Deaths Per Year?

December 30, 2025 •

5 min read

Recent research suggests that excessive sugar intake contributes to hundreds of thousands of deaths globally each year, primarily through its connection to chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease. Arriving at a single, definitive figure, however, is a complex challenge for public health officials due to the multifactorial nature of most illnesses.

Quick Summary

Studies show that excessive sugar consumption, particularly from sugary drinks, is a significant risk factor for chronic diseases, with recent estimates linking it to over 330,000 annual deaths globally. Establishing a precise number is difficult because sugar is one of many contributing factors to chronic illness mortality.

Key Points

High Annual Mortality Estimated: Research indicates that hundreds of thousands of deaths annually are linked to excessive sugar intake, particularly from sugary drinks.
Indirect Cause of Death: Sugar is not a direct cause of death but a major risk factor for chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease, which are listed as the official causes of death.
SSB Research Quantifies Impact: Studies focusing on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) provide specific mortality estimates, with one 2025 study linking SSBs to over 330,000 deaths from diabetes and cardiovascular disease in 2020 alone.
Multiple Disease Pathways: Excessive sugar consumption contributes to weight gain, inflammation, insulin resistance, and fatty liver disease, all of which increase the risk of fatal chronic conditions.
WHO Recommends Limits: The World Health Organization (WHO) advises limiting daily intake of free sugars to under 10% of total energy intake, and even less for greater health benefits.
Disproportionate Global Impact: The burden of mortality linked to sugary drinks is often higher in low- and middle-income countries.

The Challenge in Quantifying Sugar-Related Mortality

Determining the exact number of sugar-related deaths per year is not straightforward. Unlike deaths from a single, specific cause like a fatal accident, excessive sugar consumption acts as a major risk factor, contributing to a cascade of chronic health problems over time. An individual's death certificate lists the final cause, such as a heart attack or kidney failure, not the dietary habits that contributed to it. Therefore, public health researchers use sophisticated models to estimate the proportion of deaths attributable to poor dietary factors, including high sugar intake.

Notable Studies on Sugar-Sweetened Beverages

Several key studies have focused on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) as a specific and measurable source of added sugar, providing some of the most cited mortality estimates. These studies often focus on SSBs because they are a major source of added sugars and offer little nutritional value beyond empty calories.

The 2013 Harvard Study: Researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health presented findings at an American Heart Association conference suggesting that sugary drinks were associated with roughly 180,000 obesity-related deaths worldwide in 2010. This was broken down into 133,000 diabetes deaths, 44,000 cardiovascular disease deaths, and 6,000 cancer deaths linked to these beverages.
The 2025 Nature Medicine Publication: A more recent study, analyzing data up to 2020, provided an updated estimate. It concluded that SSB consumption caused over 338,000 deaths that year, primarily from diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The analysis also noted significant regional variations, with Latin America and the Caribbean experiencing some of the highest proportional burdens.

The Mechanisms Linking Sugar and Death

Excessive sugar intake is not a poison, but a chronic stressor on the body that creates conditions ripe for serious, life-threatening diseases. The biological pathways are well-documented and involve several key processes:

How Sugar Contributes to Fatal Health Conditions

Excessive free sugar consumption impacts the body in multiple, interconnected ways, leading to an increased risk of severe illness. These include:

Weight Gain and Obesity: Sugary foods and drinks are often high in calories and low in satiety, leading to overconsumption. The fructose in SSBs, in particular, can cause resistance to leptin, a hormone that regulates appetite. Excess weight and obesity are major risk factors for type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers.
Type 2 Diabetes: Prolonged high sugar intake strains the pancreas, which produces insulin to regulate blood sugar. Over time, this can lead to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. According to the WHO, diabetes was the direct cause of 1.6 million deaths in 2021. The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) estimated diabetes caused 3.4 million deaths in 2024. Uncontrolled diabetes can lead to complications such as kidney failure, heart disease, and stroke, all of which are fatal conditions.
Cardiovascular Disease: Diets high in added sugar are associated with an increased risk of heart disease, the leading cause of death globally. Excessive sugar can increase inflammation, raise triglycerides, elevate blood pressure, and lead to atherosclerosis (the hardening and narrowing of arteries).
Fatty Liver Disease: The liver metabolizes fructose. Overloading the liver with large amounts of fructose from added sugars can lead to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), a condition that can progress to liver failure.
Certain Cancers: A diet rich in added sugar can increase chronic inflammation and insulin resistance, both of which are risk factors for cancer development. Obesity, often driven by high sugar intake, is also a well-established risk factor for several types of cancer.

Comparison of Risk Factors Associated with High Sugar Intake

To better understand the complex mortality picture, comparing the relative contributions of different health issues linked to sugar can be helpful. The table below highlights the estimated distribution of deaths from the 2025 study on sugar-sweetened beverages.


Health Condition	Estimated Global Annual Deaths Attributed to SSBs (2020 Data)	Risk Factor	Path to Mortality
Diabetes	Over 2.2 million new cases, leading to substantial mortality.	High blood sugar, insulin resistance	Kidney failure, heart attack, stroke.
Cardiovascular Disease	Over 1.2 million new cases, leading to over 338,000 deaths attributed to SSBs.	Inflammation, high blood pressure, high triglycerides.	Heart attack, stroke.
Cancer	Not directly quantified in the most recent SSB study, but a known risk factor.	Inflammation, obesity.	Cancer progression, organ failure.
Obesity	Not a direct cause of death, but a major contributor to all other conditions listed.	High-calorie intake from added sugar.	Increases risk for diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.

Global Recommendations and Public Health Measures

Given the strong evidence linking high sugar consumption to fatal chronic diseases, major health organizations have issued recommendations and called for public health action. The World Health Organization (WHO) advises limiting the intake of free sugars to less than 10% of total energy intake, with a further reduction to below 5% for additional health benefits.

To achieve this, public health measures include:

Fiscal policies, such as taxes on sugary drinks, which have been implemented in many countries to reduce consumption.
Restricting marketing of foods and drinks high in free sugars, especially targeting children.
Implementing clear nutrition labeling to help consumers identify products with high added sugar content.
Encouraging food manufacturers to reduce free sugars in processed foods.

Conclusion: A Clear Link, Not a Simple Number

While there is no single, fixed number for how many sugar-related deaths occur annually, scientific evidence overwhelmingly confirms that excessive sugar intake is a significant contributor to global mortality. Figures from major studies on sugar-sweetened beverages suggest hundreds of thousands of deaths each year are directly tied to consumption, mediated through conditions like diabetes and cardiovascular disease. This does not even account for the broader impact of sugar from other processed foods. Reducing sugar consumption is a critical public health priority, and measures to curb intake can lead to a significant decrease in preventable deaths from chronic illnesses. For more information on dietary guidelines, consult authoritative sources like the World Health Organization: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/healthy-diet.

A Global Health Concern

The impact of excessive sugar consumption is a global health issue, affecting both high-income and low-to-middle-income countries, though disproportionately impacting the latter. The long-term consequences of a high-sugar diet, including the development of obesity, metabolic syndrome, and other chronic conditions, highlight the need for greater public awareness and effective policy interventions to promote healthier dietary habits and ultimately save lives.

Frequently Asked Questions

No, sugar does not cause death directly. It acts as a significant risk factor that contributes to the development of chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease, which are the actual causes of death.

Excessive sugar intake is most strongly linked to type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, though it also contributes to obesity and increases the risk for certain cancers and fatty liver disease.

The mortality figures for SSBs, such as the 338,000+ deaths estimated for 2020, are based on advanced epidemiological and statistical modeling, not direct causal links. They represent the estimated number of deaths attributable to SSB consumption as a risk factor.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends limiting your intake of free sugars to less than 10% of your total daily energy intake, with additional benefits from a reduction to below 5%.

High sugar intake can lead to heart disease by contributing to inflammation, weight gain, high blood pressure, high triglycerides, and atherosclerosis, all of which are major risk factors for cardiovascular problems.

No, the primary concern is with 'free sugars,' which are added to foods and drinks or are present in honey, syrups, and fruit juices. Sugars naturally present in whole fruits and vegetables are less of a concern due to the presence of fiber and other nutrients.

Reducing sugar consumption through public health initiatives like taxing sugary drinks, restricting marketing, and promoting healthier dietary habits is key. Individuals can reduce their intake by choosing water over sugary beverages and eating more whole foods.