Sugar-Sweetened, Diet Drinks Linked To Up To 60% Higher Risk Of Fatty Liver: Study

A new study has revealed that both sugary drinks and diet sodas may increase the risk of a common liver disease by up to 60%.

The research followed nearly 1.24 lakh participants from the UK Biobank, a large-scale biomedical study in the United Kingdom. The participants had no prior liver conditions.

Presented at United European Gastroenterology (UEG) Week 2025, the study found that sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) as well as low- or non-sugar-sweetened beverages (LNSSBs) are associated with a higher risk of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD).

Researchers tracked the type and amount of beverages participants drank using 24-hour dietary questionnaires at different times over the 10.3-year study. This gave a clear picture of long-term drinking habits.

Participants who consumed more than 250g per day of LNSSBs and SSBs were found to have a 60% and 50% higher risk of developing MASLD, respectively. During the study, 1,178 participants developed MASLD, and 108 died from liver-related causes.

While SSB intake was not linked to liver-related mortality, LNSSBs were associated with an increased risk of liver-related deaths. Both types of beverages were also connected to greater liver fat content.

MASLD, formerly called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), occurs when fat builds up in the liver, potentially causing inflammation and symptoms like fatigue, abdominal pain and loss of appetite. The condition affects over 30% of people globally and is an increasingly common cause of liver-related deaths.

Lead author Lihe Liu, said, “SSBs have long been under scrutiny, while their ‘diet’ alternatives are often seen as the healthier choice. Both, however, are widely consumed and their effects on liver health have not been well understood.”

Liu added that the study found that even modest consumption of LNSSBs was associated with a higher risk of MASLD. These results challenge the belief that these drinks are harmless and suggest that their impact on diet and liver health needs to be reevaluated.

The study highlights the importance of reducing both SSBs and LNSSBs as part of a wider strategy to prevent liver and metabolic disease. Replacing these beverages with water reduced MASLD risk by 12.8% for SSBs and 15.2% for LNSSBs, while switching between the two drink types offered no significant benefit.

Concluding the findings, Liu said, “The safest approach is to limit both sugar-sweetened and artificially sweetened drinks. Water remains the best choice as it removes the metabolic burden and prevents fat accumulation in the liver, whilst hydrating the body.”