Regular Consumption of Diet Soda Leads to Serious Long-Term Health Consequences, Study

Diet Soda is not living up to its promise!

According to a study conducted by the Purdue University, drinking Diet soda does not lead to weight loss, in fact, the beverage is claimed to cause numerous health problems ranging from obesity, diabetes and heart disease.

The consequences of consuming diet soft drinks are reportedly to be similar to its sugary counterparts.

"The concern that these non-caloric sweeteners might not be healthy is a message that many people do not want to hear, especially as the prevalence of artificial sweeteners increases in other products," said Susie Swithers, a professor of psychological sciences and a behavioral neuroscientist.

The recent findings have come at a time, when the consumption of diet sodas has increased substantially over the last 25 years, posing grave danger to one's health.

In order to arrive at the conclusion, Swithers analyzed several recent studies to find out diet soda's long-term effects on weight gain and other health problems. Her paper appears in July10th issue of the journal 'Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism.'

One large study showed that people who drank artificially sweetened soda (diet soda), are more likely to gain weight than people who consumed non-diet soda. Other studies found out that people who drank diet soda carry the risk of developing metabolic syndrome when compared to people, who refrain from it.

"Are diet sodas worse for you than regular sodas? I think that's the wrong question," said Swithers, who is also a member of Purdue's Ingestive Behavior Research Center. "It's, 'What good are sodas for you in the first place?' "

However, some have opposed to the findings.

"This is an opinion piece not a scientific study," the organization said in an emailed statement. "Low-calorie sweeteners are some of the most studied and reviewed ingredients in the food supply today. They are a safe and an effective tool in weight loss and weight management, according to decades of scientific research and regulatory agencies around the globe," said, the American Beverage Association, the trade association for the non-alcoholic drinks industry.

The association claimed that organizations including the American Diabetes Association and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics do not object to the use of low and no calorie sweeteners to help maintain healthy weight. It further says that there are a number of studies that reveal that drinking diet beverages will not lead to weight gain or increase a person's desire for sweet foods.

Swithers disagreed with the associations' statements and cited some studies which say that when people drink diet soda, they display 'cognitive distortion,' a psychological process where people tend to gorge on more food as they think they have effectively minimized liquid calories.

"You get this kind of confusion and that can lead to overeating, and at least in the animal model that can lead to an increase in blood sugar spikes," Swithers said. "The take-home message is for people to be much mindful of how much sweetener, whether artificial or sugar, they're actually consuming. Science suggests that people who drink soda regularly end up with worse outcomes."