Diet Soda Study - Weight Gain Drinking Diet Soda

A new study suggests that diet soda may lead to substantial weight gain.

A study presented at a recent American Diabetes Association meeting shows that drinking diet soda is associated with significant weight gain in humans. And a second study shows that aspartame -- an artificial sweetener in diet soda -- actually raises blood sugar in mice prone to diabetes.

"Data from this and other prospective studies suggest that the promotion of diet sodas and artificial sweeteners as healthy alternatives may be ill-advised," study researcher Helen P. Hazuda, Ph.D., a professor and chief of clinical epidemiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center - San Antonio's School of Medicine, said in a statement. "They may be free of calories but not of consequences."

In the first study, researchers collected height, weight, waist circumference and diet soda intake data from 474 people who participated in the San Antonio Longitudinal Study of Aging. They were followed up an average of 9.5 years later, according to the research.

More Diet Soda - More Weight Gain

Researchers found that the diet soda drinkers had weight gain 70 percent greater than those who were non-diet soda drinkers.

And people who drank diet soda the most frequently -- at least two diet sodas a day -- had weight gain increases that were 500 percent greater than people who didn't drink any diet soda, the study said.

Artificial sugar didn't produce any better results in the second study in mice. Researchers for this study found that diabetes-prone mice that were fed a diet that included aspartame for three months, had higher blood glucose levels than mice not given aspartame.

This isn't the first news illuminating diet soda's health risks. A study published earlier this year found people who drink the beverage every day have a higher stroke and heart attack risk.

And UK researchers found earlier this month that sugary tasting drinks can dull taste buds, leading consumers to crave the sweet stuff even more.

Another Diet Soda Study Shows Similar Results With Weight Gain

In an earlier study at the University of Texas Health Center, 1550 people were studied from the age of 25 - 64. The results were just as startling.

The risk of gaining weight and becoming overweight or obese from drinking diet soda:

• 36.5% for those who drink 1/2 can of diet soda each day
• 37.5% for those who drink 1/2 can to 1 can of diet soda each day
• 54.5% for those who drink 1 - 2 cans of diet soda each day
• 57.1% for those drinking more than 2 cans of diet soda each day

So What's The Deal With Diet Soda?

Study researchers hypothesize that the sweet taste of aspartame may trick your body into believing that you just ingested calories.

Your body then looks for those calories to burn some fuel - and when it can't find it - your body reacts by craving more calories. And then comes the weight gain.

Bottom Line:

The body understands calories better than we ever could. It processes calories for a living! We only fool ourselves when we drink diet soda. Not to mention the potential health risks associated with aspartame.

Our two Editor's Choice winners - the Jillian Michaels Diet and The Diet Solution - help you lose weight quickly when you eliminate artificial ingredients. Eliminating diet soda should be the first item on your dieting list.

Let others know that what the diet soda study revealed about weight gain, and that one rule in dieting always reigns supreme:

The most effective method to lose weight is to make gradual, permanent changes in your diet.

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