In an effort to reduce calories and sugar consumption, many people turn to diet beverages. Diet drinks contain few or no calories because they are sweetened with non-nutritive artificial sweeteners. However there is good evidence that these artificial sweeteners actually promote weight gain. Research is still examining why this paradoxical effect occurs but in the meantime, dieters should drink artificially sweetened beverages in moderation only.
Weight Gain
In 2008, a study by S. E. Swithers and T. L. Davidson found that rats fed yogurt sweetened with calorie-free, non-nutritive sweetener gained more body weight that those fed the same amount of yogurt sweetened with simple glucose. Follow-up studies found a similar effect with the high intensity sweetener acesulfame potassium.
Metabolic Syndrome
Metabolic syndrome is a condition marked by excess weight around the waist, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and insulin resistance. In a landmark 2009 study, researchers surveyed participants on their diet and beverage choices and then followed the same subjects over a 7-year period. Individuals who reported drinking at least one diet soda per day had a 36 percent greater relative risk of metabolic syndrome during this time.
How It Works
The mechanism that causes diet beverages to promote weight gain is still under investigation. However, scientists think that part of the problem may be the fact that artificial sweeteners uncouple the link between calories and sweetness. If you consume a sweet-tasting food, your metabolism is altered because your body expects to receive a large amount of calories. If these calories are not forthcoming, you may actually eat more and expend less energy to compensate for the mismatch.
Alternative
Plain water is still the healthiest beverage choice and now a randomized, controlled trial has confirmed it. In 2010, researchers from Virginia Tech University presented results that show the benefits of water for weight loss. Subjects who drank 2 cups of water prior to a meal consumed 75 to 90 fewer calories during that meal. Over a 12-week period, individuals who drank water before meals three times per day lost approximately 5 lbs. more than dieters who did not increase their water consumption.
References
- Behavorial Neuroscience: General and persistent effects of high-intensity sweeteners on body weight gain and caloric compensation in rats
- Diabetes Care: Diet soda intake and risk of incident metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA)
- ScienceDaily: Drink Water to Curb Weight Gain? Clinical Trial Confirms Effectiveness of Simple Appetite Control Method
- FamilyDoctor.org: Metabolic Syndrome
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