Increased sugar consumption linked to increase in diabetes rates

Interesting article in PLOS One (full article available free).  From the abstract:

Using econometric models of repeated cross-sectional data on diabetes and nutritional components of food from 175 countries, we found that every 150 kcal/person/day increase in sugar availability (about one can of soda/day) was associated with increased diabetes prevalence by 1.1% (p <0 .001) after testing for potential selection biases and controlling for other food types (including fibers, meats, fruits, oils, cereals), total calories, overweight and obesity, period-effects, and several socioeconomic variables such as aging, urbanization and income. No other food types yielded significant individual associations with diabetes prevalence after controlling for obesity and other confounders.

Editorial in the NY Times likens it to tobacco studies.

Will this make you think twice about your sugar consumption?  I know I am.  I know that I consume too much sugar and try to cut back. Sometimes having a kick in the pants like this can really help.