“Caffeine, not sugar, is the greater concern with soda.”
many nutritionists and physicians, as originally popularized by Dr. Atkins (first rejected, later embraced by many), hold that sugar particularly, and other refined grains as well, are probably the number one cause of diabetes, atherosclerosis, high cholesterol, hypertension, heart disease, peripheral vascular disease, and obesity, diseases that are hugely prevalent in modern western civilization.
not everyone agrees but this is now a solidly accepted medical theory