Sugary beverages, such as fizzy drinks and fruit juices, may be responsible for as many as 184,000 deaths worldwide every year, according to a global report.

US researchers analysed 62 dietary surveys involving over 611,000 people that had been carried out in 51 countries between 1980 and 2010. Data on the availability of sugar in 187 countries was also assessed.

The researchers looked specifically at the impact of sugary drinks on deaths and disabilities from cancer, heart disease and diabetes. Sugary drinks were defined as any sugar sweetened fizzy drinks, fruit drinks, energy drinks and sweetened iced teas, which contained at least 50kcal per 8oz serving. Pure fruit juice was excluded.

The report estimated that in 2010, sugary drinks may have been responsible for 133,000 deaths from diabetes, 45,000 deaths from cardiovascular disease and almost 6,500 deaths from cancer.

"Many countries in the world have a significant number of deaths occurring from a single dietary factor, sugar-sweetened beverages. It should be a global priority to substantially reduce or eliminate sugar-sweetened beverages from the diet," commented the study's senior author, Dr Dariush Mozaffarian, of Tufts University in Boston.

He emphasised that there are ‘no health benefits' associated with sugary drinks and tens of thousands of lives could be saved every year if consumption was reduced.

The report noted that three in four of the estimated sugary drink-related deaths occurred in low or middle-income countries, and of the 20 most populous countries, Mexico had the highest death rate (405 deaths per million people), followed by the US (125 deaths per million people).

The report also noted that the percentage of chronic diseases related to sugary drink consumption was higher in younger adults than older adults. This is a major cause for concern according to the researchers.

"The health impact of sugar-sweetened beverage intake on the young is important because younger adults form a large sector of the workforce in many countries, so the economic impact of sugar-sweetened beverage-related deaths and disability in this age group can be significant.

"It also raises concerns about the future. If these young people continue to consume high levels as they age, the effects of high consumption will be compounded by the effects of ageing, leading to even higher death and disability rates from heart disease and diabetes than we are seeing now," they noted.

Details of these findings are published in the journal, Circulation.