A recent study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ruffled some feathers in the beverage industry, prompting a response from the American Beverage Association. The study, published early this month in JAMA Internal Medicine, examined trends of added sugar consumption in the United States and investigated its association with cardiovascular disease mortality.

The epidemiologic study was designed to show an association between added sugar consumption and CVD mortality, and was not intended to show cause-and-effect results. ABA made this clear in its response, which read: "This is an observational study which cannotand does notshow that cardiovascular disease is caused by drinking sugar-sweetened beverages.