Drinking just one or one extra, 12oz serving size of sugar-sweetened soft drink a day can be enough to increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 22 percent, a new study has found. The researchers used data on consumption of juices and nectar's, sugar-sweetened soft drinks and artificially sweetened soft drinks collected across eight European associates participating in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition covering some 350,000 participants. Dr Dora Romaguera, who led the study, said:  “One of the problems with soft drinks is although they cause diabetes because of the high content of sugar, you do not feel you have eaten anything – so you go on consuming them” The majority of the research in this area has been conducted in North American populations; the authors stressed that the link between sweet beverage consumption and type 2 diabetes would only exist in Europe. “Given the increase in sweet beverage consumption in Europe, clear messages on its deleterious effect on health should be given to the population,” said Romaguera. She added: “Fizzy drinks should be seen as a treat you have once every couple of weeks – not as a substitute for water to be had every time you feel thirsty.” The findings are published in Diabetologia, the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes and comes from data in the InterAct association.