A new University of California, San Francisco study is the first to find that drinking soda is linked to telomere shortening. These are the protective caps at the ends of our chromosomes that affect how quickly cells age. When this happens, we are prone to age-related diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and some types of cancer. Lead author Dr. Cindy Leung says that although their study surveyed healthy adults, it’s also possible that soda consumption is associated with telomere shortening in children.

"We know that childhood is a really critical window for our telomeres to develop. If we’re marketing sugary beverages to children and they’re drinking them at such high levels, it could really put them on this accelerated aging trajectory before they even hit adolescence."

Fortunately, Leung says that telomere shortening is reversible.

"Drinking less sugary beverages would be one way to either halt or slow down their telomere shortening process. And also we, as a society, should promote other health behaviors that would help to lengthen our telomeres."