People who rely on diet beverages for weight loss may be consuming more calories, according to a new study The Examiner reported.
Researchers at John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Md., found that many overweight or obese who drink diet beverages consumed more calories from food than those who don't drink regular soda.
"Although overweight and obese adults who drink diet soda eat a comparable amount of total calories as heavier adults who drink sugary beverages, they consume significantly more calories from solid food at both meals and snacks," Sara Bleich, lead author of the study, said in a statement.
Researchers said the consumption of diet soda has increased considerably in the past few decades from 3 percent in 1965 to 20 percent today.
In the study, researchers used data from the 1999-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a population-based survey designed to collect information on the health and nutrition of the US population, to examine national patterns in adult diet beverage consumption and calorie intake.
They found that individuals who drink diet soda typically had a higher Body Mass Index .
The research indicated that while diet sodas did not promote excess eating in normal-weight individuals, overweight and obese diet-soda drinkers ate significantly more and consume more snack food than those who drink sugary beverages.
"The results of our study suggest that overweight and obese adults looking to lose or maintain their weight--who have already made the switch from sugary to diet beverages--may need to look carefully at other components of their solid-food diet, particularly sweet snacks, to potentially identify areas for modification," Bleich said.
In their study, researchers said the reason why heavy adults who drink diet sodas consume more solid food is because of artificial sweeteners, which are present in high doses in diet beverages.
"If you consume artificial sweeteners, it makes the brain think you are less satiated or full, and as a result you eat more," The Examiner quoted Bleich as saying.
