According to research published in the BMJ journal Gut on May 6, drinking sugar-sweetened beverages in adolescence and adulthood may increase a person's likelihood of developing early-onset colorectal cancer in their lifetime.

Louis, Missouri studied participants' sugar-sweetened beverage intake and early-onset colorectal cancer risk in adulthood.

Researchers also identified and tracked early-onset colorectal cancer among a subgroup of 41,272 women who reported consuming sugar-sweetened beverages between ages 13 and 18.

Women who drank two or more 8-ounce servings of sugar-sweetened beverages a day as adults were more than twice as likely to develop early-onset colorectal cancer than those who consumed one 8-ounce sugar-sweetened beverage or less each week.

Each daily 8-ounce serving of sugar-sweetened beverages woman drank between the ages of 13 and 18 increased her risk of early-onset colorectal by 32%.

The study's authors also found that replacing those sugar-sweetened beverages with whole or reduced-fat milk, coffee, or artificially-sweetened beverages could potentially reduce a person's risk of early-onset colorectal cancer between 17 and 35%.