Food post-Drinking your calories

This image is pretty self explanatory. It shows the amount of sugar you gulp down in a single sugary drink.

A lot of these are American, but the fruit juices and the coke bottles are relevant here as well. The big coke bottle is a bit bigger than the bottles that are common in vending machines, which are 500ml, but even in the can sized portion of coke, there is 40% of your daily sugar allowance as an adult. In the common bottle size, there is 60%.

You could say that even if you don't have any other sugar throughout the day (which is very doubtful) that 40-60% of your daily intake isn't that much. However, when you're taking in all that refined sugar in a single go, you're doing more harm that good.

The sugar hits your system and spikes your sugar levels, sending them sky high, only for them to crash when they leave your system. The short term effects can be felt in yoyo-ing energy levels, mood and appetite. It's the long term health ramifications from regular consumption of food and drinks with a high refined sugar content that causes more damage. Your teeth and gum health deteriorates, your pancreas will be constantly trying to counter the amount of glucose in your bloodstream with insulin, eventually making you insulin resistant. The stress of being overworked will make your pancreas stop working, causing diabetes, meaning you will be on medication for the rest of your life. A few of the more serious side effects of diabetes are deadened nerve endings, constant dry mouth, amputated limbs, and a seriously strict diet. If you're unlucky enough to have a history of heart problems in your family, diabetes specifically kills the nerve endings around your heart, so if you start to have any problems, the chances of you catching it in time gets slimmer and slimmer.

Basically, inform yourself. Get your sugar from unrefined sources like fruit, and stay the hell away from carbonated drinks.