The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that as of 2009 more than 64 percent of Americans are confronted by the challenge of being overweight or obese. This makes a zero calorie food or beverage, including diet soda appealing to many. Unfortunately, research is proving that consuming diet soda and other artificially sweetened products may increase the risk of metabolic syndrome, a dangerous precursor to diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Metabolic Syndrome and Diet Soda
Many people who are trying to lose weight choose to drink diet soda and other artificially sweetened beverages and by reducing total daily caloric intake these drinks may help with weight loss. But in 2008 the results of The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study were published in the January issue of "Circulation", revealing that drinking a single can of diet soda each day increased the risk of developing Metabolic Syndrome by 34 percent. The study was well constructed, with care taken to match the basic diets of the men and women they studied. This allowed the researchers to conclude that drinking diet soda, specifically, was associated with metabolic syndrome.
The Definition of Metabolic Syndrome
Metabolic syndrome was defined by the American Academy of Family Practice in 2008. The diagnosis can be made if at least three of five criteria are present. The first is having a specific pattern of excess weight called abdominal or central obesity. For adults over age 15 if the Body Mass Index or BMI is 25 or greater and the person has a waist circumference of more than 40 inches for a man or 25 inches for a woman this factor is present. The remaining four numbers that matter include blood pressure higher than 130/85 mm Hg. fasting blood sugar of 110 mg per deciliter or greater, triglyceride levels of 150 mg per deciliter or greater and high-density lipoprotein or HDL-cholesterol levels of less than 40 mg per deciliter for a man or less than 50 mg per deciliter for a woman. If a factor is being treated with medication it will also count as one of the three required to make the diagnosis, even if it is currently normal.
The Dangers of Having Metabolic Syndrome
Metabolic syndrome is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and over-all premature death with the risk of diabetes being most pronounced according to Earl S. Ford, M.D., MPH, of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In the July 2005 issue of "Diabetes Care" Dr. Ford analyzed six years of research by the National Cholesterol Education Program, for American data and the World Health Organization for international statistics. He found that people who met the criteria for Metabolic Syndrome had a 32 to 50 percent increased rate of diabetes compared to others in their community of the same age and gender. (see reference three) The risk of cardiovascular disease was 12 to 17 percent higher if metabolic syndrome was present and the risk of death from all causes was 6 to 7 percent higher.
Another Possible Explanation
It's important to realize that it may not be the artificial sweeteners in diet-soda that cause an increased risk of metabolic syndrome. In the 2008 issue of the "International Journal of Obesity" French physician,Sebestian Czernichow noted that people who repeatedly have lost and regained weight have more than the chance that risk of developing metabolic syndrome.
It's possible that the people who try to lose weight repeatedly turn to diet soda as a way of lowering their caloric intake. This provides another possible explanation for the connection between drinking the artificially sweetened drinks and having an elevated risk of metabolic syndrome. Until further research is done those who want to protect their health are wise to slowly correct their weight to a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 and keep it in this healthy range permanently through exercise and careful food selection, without drinking diet soda.
References
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:Obesity and Overweight Statistics, 2007-2008
- "Circulation";Dietary Intake and the Development of the Metabolic Syndrome: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study; June Stevens, Ph.D. et al; February 2008
- "Diabetes Cares";Risks for All-Cause Mortality, Cardiovascular Disease, and Diabetes Associated With the Metabolic Syndrome; Earl S. Ford, M.D.MPH; July 2005
- Family Doctor; American Academy of Family Physicians; Metabolic Syndrome;Updated March 2010
- Lipids Online; Yo-yo Dieting Doubles Metabolic Syndrome Risk; 2008
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