Several studies have shown the ill effects of consuming food and drinks that are high in sugar. Consuming too much sugar, for instance, has been linked with unhealthy levels of fat in the blood and increased risks for cardiovascular disease. A new study has yet again provided another evidence of the ill-effects of high sugar intake and this time, in men who plan to have children.

For the study published in the journal Human Reproduction on May 8, a team of international Researchers from Denmark, Spain and the United States involved 189 men who were between 18 and 22 years old to find a link between the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) and semen quality.

The researchers asked the participants samples of their blood and semen as well as to undergo a physical examination. The participants also reported how often they consume sugar-sweetened drinks such as sodas and sports drinks for the past year.

Although consuming too many sugary drinks did not appear to have affected the participants' semen ejaculation volume, count or shape, the researchers found that men who drink an average of 2.7 sugar- sweetened beverages had 6.3 percent lower sperm motility when compared with other participants in the study who only consumed about one sugary drink per day, or an equivalent of roughly 12 oz. of drinks per day.

Sperm motility is the ability of the sperm to move efficiently towards an egg, a crucial factor for a successful pregnancy and as such considered to be a gauge of the sperm's quality. Interestingly though, this effect seemed to only show in lean men and not in the obese or overweight participants of the study.

"SSB intake was inversely related to progressive sperm motility," study researcher Jorge Chavarro, from the Department of Epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, and colleagues wrote. "This association was stronger among lean men but absent among overweight or obese men,"

The researchers also found an association between consuming too many sugary drinks and reduced levels of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), which helps in the production of the sperm.

Chavarro said that while fertility is one reason why men should consider the amount of sugar-sweetened drinks they consume, they should also think of other health-related reasons to watch out for their intake of sodas and other sugary drinks. High intake of sugary drinks is linked with increased body weight and fat, tooth decay and heart disease.