Drinking at least one sugar-sweetened soft drink or fruit punch daily nearly doubles the risk of diabetes, according to the first large study to examine the suggested link.

Women who drank fewer than one of the beverages a month had half the risk of developing diabetes than those who drank one a day, according to the study of 91,000 nurses. The results are published in today’s issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association.

Women who increased the amount of sugar-sweetened drinks they consumed from one or less a week to one or more daily also were most likely to gain weight, picking up 17 pounds in eight years. The study provides more grist for a long-standing debate among nutritionists, government panels and the food and beverage industry about whether added sugars contribute to obesity and chronic diet-related diseases.

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