Is soda really that bad in any flavor?

Drinking pop is bad for you, according to a new study published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Drinking one or more soft drink daily puts you at 30 percent or more higher risk of developing new-onset obesity, larger waist circumference and low levels of "good" cholesterol, HDL.

You also have a one-in-four chance of developing high blood triglycerides or high fasting blood glucose, and perhaps even an increased risk of high blood pressure, although those statistics are not significant.

So what's the big news, you ask? Doesn't everybody know that syrupy soda isn't a health food? Does it really take a study to discover that sugar and caffeine won't make you live longer?

No, not just regular pop, but sugar free soda as well.

Lumped together as "metabolic syndrome," the chance of developing those symptoms increased in people who drank one or more soft drinks each day.

Researchers are at a loss to explain the results, saying taking factors such as smoking, exercise and diet into account didn't seem to affect the outcome.

Perhaps drinking sugar -- even artificial sugar -- makes us crave sweeter foods than we would otherwise.

Maybe it's the caramel content, or the fact that drinking a lot of liquids stretches your stomach enough that it takes more to fill you up at the next meal.

The researchers don't know the answer, and admit that their results need more study before they can claim a real association between bad health factors and swigging a soda.

But that didn't keep them from spoiling our summertime fun by publishing their findings. Perhaps their next study should examine the relationship between being in a grumpy mood and being forced to drink plain water.