Diet Soda Linked To Weight Gain

[WhiteTara]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/29/diet-soda-weight-gain_n_886409.html

A study presented at a American Diabetes Association meeting this week shows that drinking diet soda is associated with a wider waist in humans. And a second study shows that aspartame -- the artificial sweetener in diet soda -- actually raises blood sugar in mice prone to diabetes.

Snip

Researchers found that the diet soda drinkers had waist circumferences 70 percent greater than those who non-diet soda drinkers. And people who drank diet soda the most frequently -- at least two diet sodas a day -- had waist circumferences that were 500 percent greater than people who didn't drink any diet soda, the study said.

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

[no_hypocrisy]

1. How come there isn't at least one class action products liability lawsuit?

There are obvious health reasons and a blatant lie that the product is "diet", making the consumer believe s/he will lose weight (or at least not gain weight) and instead leaves the consumer with a greater risk for heart attack and stroke.

And the FDA -- what about warning labels on diet soda?

[tibbiit]

4. Hey watch your mouth:)

You and other nannies will have to pry my Diet Dr Pepper out of my cold dead hands!
Tib

(this is in jest, however i dont give a shit about blood sugar or waist size, I love Diet Dr Pepper!)

[no_hypocrisy]

6. You are always allowed to assume the risk.

The rest of the public should at least have the option of deciding to continue consuming a product that has questionable safety.

:hi:

[Pacifist Patriot]

10. I remember when I was in Spain in the mid-80s...

"Diet Coke" was called something else because their marketing laws forbid the use of a term that implied it was healthy on a product that wasn't.

We Americans found that funny because everyone knew that nothing called "diet" in the U.S. could be presumed healthy. This was how many years ago?

[Stuart G]

2. K and R thanks for posting..

[liberal N proud]

3. Great, JUST great, we have put up with the aftertaste for nothing

[Bryan Buchan]

5. Yea, I stopped drinking it habituality...

replaced it with Carbonated Spring Water and I lost 15 lbs in a few weeks...never going back...now I drink it as a treat on occasion, everything in moderation, no?

[tibbiit]

7. The famous rock philosopher Mick Jagger once said

"Too much is never enough." So moderation phooey... (however if you lost 15 lbs in a few weeks without diet soda, maybe i might try to cut back)
tib

[Bryan Buchan]

19. I'd try to...

...you'll also save your teeth from deteriorating quicker...three weeks tops I lost the 15...found out through the process I was not craving the taste of the soda but the carbonation...so water with bubbles does it for me...I am sure it is different for any body type.

[FiveGoodMen]

8. Can't be correct as stated.

As someone in a duplicate thread pointed out, "circumferences that were 500 percent greater" would mean that a 32" waistline would turn into a 160" waistline due to diet soda (32 x 5).

How many people drink diet soda?

How many people have you seen with a 160" waistline?

[pokerfan]

12. I read it as

500 percent greater than people who didn't drink any diet soda

That it was in comparison to the control group.

[FiveGoodMen]

13. Ah, well six times, then

500% greater than 32 = 32 + 500% of 32 = 32 + 160 = 192.

So how many 192" waistlines has anyone seen?

[pokerfan]

15. Still not following you

They're not saying that anyone gained 500%. They're saying that they gained 500% more than the control group did.

Researchers found that the diet soda drinkers had waist circumferences 70 percent greater than those who non-diet soda drinkers. And people who drank diet soda the most frequently -- at least two diet sodas a day -- had waist circumferences that were 500 percent greater than people who didn't drink any diet soda, the study said.

[FiveGoodMen]

17. If you go to a restaurant and run up a $100 bill

then add a 20% tip, your final payment is 20% greater than the bill itself, or $120 dollars.

If you added a 500% tip you'd be paying $600.

It doesn't matter that the control group is a different set of people, the %500 still implies that diet soda drinkers -- on average -- have waistlines six times that of the rest of the population.

[pokerfan]

20. No it doesn't

The 70% and 500% numbers were in comparison to gains in the other group.

Researchers found that the diet soda drinkers had waist circumferences 70 percent greater than those who non-diet soda drinkers. And people who drank diet soda the most frequently -- at least two diet sodas a day -- had waist circumferences that were 500 percent greater than people who didn't drink any diet soda, the study said.

OK, let's say one group experienced an average waist gain of 1.5 cm and let's say the second group saw an average gain of 7.5 cm. Then one would say that the second group experienced waist circumference increases that were 500 percent greater than those of the first group.

[FiveGoodMen]

21. "Then one would say ..."

Then one would say that the second group experienced waist circumference increases that were 500 percent greater than those of the first group.

Guess the writer of the article should have said that, then.

Because what you actually quoted was "had waist circumferences that were 500 percent greater than people who didn't drink any diet soda" -- note the lack of the word increases!

[pokerfan]

22. Ah, I see

I guess I just flew by that knowing what they were trying to say.

[JBoy]

14. The original study actually referred to circumference INCREASES

Huffpo screwed up the writing in their reporting.

http://www.uthscsa.edu/hscnews/singleformat2.asp?newID=3861

"Diet soft drink users, as a group, experienced 70 percent greater increases in waist circumference compared with non-users. Frequent users, who said they consumed two or more diet sodas a day, experienced waist circumference increases that were 500 percent greater than those of non-users."

[pokerfan]

16. I'm no fan of Huffpo especially when they try to do science

but...

uthscsa.edu: Diet soft drink users, as a group, experienced 70 percent greater increases in waist circumference compared with non-users. Frequent users, who said they consumed two or more diet sodas a day, experienced waist circumference increases that were 500 percent greater than those of non-users.

HuffPo: Researchers found that the diet soda drinkers had waist circumferences 70 percent greater than those who non-diet soda drinkers. And people who drank diet soda the most frequently -- at least two diet sodas a day -- had waist circumferences that were 500 percent greater than people who didn't drink any diet soda, the study said.

[semillama]

23. Huffpo screw up science? Perish the thought!

While there may be something to the link with blood sugar, I would like to see a better-designed study on the effect on waist circumference increases. From the UTHSCSA article, here are the factors that were tracked: "The results were adjusted for waist circumference, diabetes status, leisure-time physical activity level, neighborhood of residence, age and smoking status at the beginning of each interval, as well as sex, ethnicity and years of education." Note that diet was not tracked. It would be interesting to see if consumption of diet soda was linked to an attempt to control calories while still eating terrible diets. You know, getting the fast food meal deal with a diet coke...

[The Backlash Cometh]

9. Capitalism isn't good for your health or your pocket book.

That's what it's looking like.

[yodermon]

11. doesn't this just mean that overweight people tend to drink diet soda?

Affirming the consequent

[qb]

18. I'm convinced enough to try calling it quits...

I've already cut way back on soda to save money. Now I'll see if cutting out diet sodas completely will help me lose that stubborn muffin top above my jeans.

[SheilaT]

24. Back in the 1970's I started reading about

research that indicated people who drank diet soft drinks did NOT reduce the overall calories in their diets, and in fact were somewhat more inclined to consume extra sugar in one form or another. Plus, around then there was the aspartame scare -- that it caused cancer or some such. So I stopped drinking diet sodas and went back to the regular ones.

About twenty years ago I stopped drinking soft drinks altogether, with very rare exceptions. I have maybe one soft drink every two or three months at this point. I do find that fizzy water quenches my thirst better than still water, so I tend to buy and drink unflavored, unsweetened carbonated water.

[endless october]

25. zero calorie soda does not cause weight gain.

one would have to also consume additional calories.

i enjoy soda. without diet soda, it would have been more difficult for me to keep off the weight that i lost several years ago.

keeping the weight off is something i work on daily. i weigh daily, count calories, keep a food diary, and exercise. i feel that having a diet coke or two is not something i should have to feel guilty about.

[astral]

27. It's not about feeling guilty, if it is working for you.

It is about the TENDENCY of diet soda to increase appetite. Now I'm going to have to go find a link...

[Odin2005]

26. Either this study is BS, or my dad is a freak of nature.

I'll go for the former.

He has diabetes, he used to be 350lbs when he was in his 20s. Now he's down to 190. He drinks a lot of diet Pepsi.

[bemildred]

28. Could it not be that the overweight are more likely to drink that otherwise undrinkable crap?

Correlation is not causation. I am no fan of diet soda, but simply noticing that overweight people are more likely to drink it is sufficient to explain this result.

[LAGC]

29. About that study...

Wouldn't it make sense that most of the people who were drinking diet soda were fat in the first place? So of course diet soda drinkers have bigger waist-lines... duh.

I mean, why else drink diet soda unless you are overweight and need to lose some weight?

Bottom line is most diet sodas have 0 calories. You can't gain weight by consuming zero-calorie beverages.

I agree there are other health reasons not to drink soda period, but I don't buy the line that diet soda CAUSES weight gain. Correlation =/= Causation.