"Among the 20 countries with the highest estimated sugar-sweetened beverage-related deaths, at least 8 were in Latin America and the Caribbean, reflecting the high intakes in that region of the world," said Gitanjali Singh, lead author of the study and a research assistant professor at the Friedman School at Tufts. Overall, in younger adults, the per cent of chronic disease attributed to sugar-sweetened beverages was higher than the per cent in older adults. The study was published in the journal Circulation.