Sipping Smarter: How Sugary Drinks Shape Health and Habits with Dr. Scott Harding

About this episode

Dr. Scott Harding discusses the impact of sugary drinks on health and public policy strategies to reduce their consumption.

Sugar-sweetened beverages are one of the most widely consumed sources of added sugars in our diets, and their impact on health has become a major focus of nutrition research and public policy. Governments around the world are exploring tools like taxation to curb intake, but how well do these strategies work—and for whom? Dr. Scott Harding is an Associate Professor of Nutritional Biochemistry at Memorial University in Newfoundland. His research interests include glucose metabolism, cholesterol biochemistry, and the effects of public health policies on reducing obesity and chronic disease, particularly in Newfoundland and Labrador. Dr. Harding's research lab focuses on cardiometabolic diseases, using animal and in vitro models, human trials, and population studies. His team studies public health initiatives like sugar taxes and the metabolic impacts of dietary sugars and fats under varying intake levels. They also investigate how diet and lifestyle factors, such as short or disrupted sleep, activity, and dietary patterns, affect disease risk and nutrient metabolism. Dr. Harding earned his PhD in Human Nutrition from McGill University and completed postdoctoral training at the…

People in this episode

Guest: Dr. Scott Harding

Topics covered

• sugar-sweetened beverages
• nutrition research
• public health policy
• obesity
• chronic disease
• diet and lifestyle factors

Keywords

• sugary drinks
• health impact
• nutrition
• sugar taxes
• dietary patterns
• chronic disease
• obesity
• public health

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Memorial University, McGill University, University of Manitoba, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, King’s College London, Journal of Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism

Places: Newfoundland and Labrador

More episodes of Nutrition Conversations

• Bien manger durant la grossesse; un choix personnel? Quand la nutrition sociale périnatale s’invite à la table avec Bénédicte Fontaine-Bisson / Eating Well During Pregnancy: A Personal Choice? When Perinatal Social Nutrition Comes to the Table · May 29, 2026 · 43 min
• Personalized nutrition - are we ready to deliver DNA-based diets? with Dr. Ahmed El-Sohemy · April 30, 2026 · 40 min
• Seed Oils: Science vs Social Media with Dr. Jessie Burns · March 31, 2026 · 27 min
• Dinner Doesn’t Just Appear: Foodwork, Households, and Health with Dr. Leah Cahill · February 27, 2026 · 37 min
• What Nutrition Epidemiology Can (and Can’t) Tell Us with Dr. Russell de Souza · January 31, 2026 · 43 min
• Milk Molecules That Matter: Human Milk Oligosaccharides in Infant Development with Dr. Lisa Renzi-Hammond · November 28, 2025 · 42 min