Study: Diet Soda Drinkers End Up Consuming More Calories

17 Jan 2014 --- Heavy adults who believe drinking diet soda will help them lose or keep weight off should think again, a new study claims. Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health who examined national patterns in adult diet beverage consumption and calorie intake found that overweight and obese adults who drink diet beverages consume more calories from food than obese or overweight adults who drink regular soda or other sugary beverages.

The results are featured in the January 16 issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

“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,” said Sara Bleich, PhD, associate professor with the Bloomberg School’s Department of Health Policy and Management and lead author of the paper.

Using data from the 1999-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), researchers looked at national patterns in adult diet beverage consumption and caloric intake by body-weight status. The NHANES is a population-based survey designed to collect information on the health and nutrition of the US population.

Consumption of diet soda has increased considerably in the past few decades from 3% in 1965 to 20% today. Individuals who drink diet soda typically have a higher BMI (Body Mass Index) and consume more snack food than those who drink sugary beverages.

Earlier research may explain why the investigators found higher consumption of solid food among heavy adults who drink diet beverages. Artificial sweeteners, which are present in high doses in diet soda, are associated with a greater activation of reward centers in the brain, thus altering the reward a person experiences from sweet tastes. In other words, among people who drink diet soda, the brain’s sweet sensors may no longer provide a reliable gauge of energy consumption because the artificial sweetener disrupts appetite control. As a result, consumption of diet drinks may result in increased food intake overall.

“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,” said Bleich.

“Diet Beverage Consumption and Caloric Intake Among US Adults Overall and by Body Weight” was written by Sara N. Bleich, Julia A. Wolfson, Sienna Vine and Y. Claire Wang. The project was funded by a grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

In response to “Diet-Beverage Consumption and Caloric Intake Among US Adults, Overall and by Body Weight,” a study published online today ahead of print in the American Journal of Public Health, the American Beverage Association issued the following statement: “Diet beverages have been shown to be an effective tool as part of an overall weight management plan.  Numerous studies have repeatedly demonstrated the benefits of diet beverages – as well as low-calorie sweeteners, which are in thousands of foods and beverages – in helping to reduce calorie intake. Losing or maintaining weight comes down to balancing the total calories consumed with those burned through physical activity.”

The AMA also claimed:
On the Study:
•This paper looks at a single 24-hour dietary recall only, rather than total diet over time. It also fails to take into account physical activity levels.
•This paper’s findings that overweight and obese adults consume diet beverages comes as no surprise; many trying to lose weight look for ways to reduce calories, including with their beverage choices.

On Low-Calorie Sweeteners and Diet Beverages:
•The CHOICE study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, confirms that diet beverages can be an important tool in helping reduce calories and directly counters the illogical assertion that drinking diet beverages causes people to eat more or to want sweet foods and beverages.
•A paper published in Nutrition Bulletin also showed that “using foods and drinks sweetened with aspartame … is an effective way to maintain and lose weight without losing the palatability of the diet.”
•A review in Nutrition Reviews that examined the role of low-calorie sweeteners and weight management found that “to date, prospective observational studies have revealed mixed results, and it appears that reverse causality is a particular problem, since individuals who are at high risk for weight gain may choose to consume artificially-sweetened beverages in an attempt to control their weight or reduce disease risk.”
•A paper published in the International Journal of Obesity concluded that weight loss maintainers use a number of dietary strategies to accomplish their weight loss, including “increased consumption of artificially sweetened beverages.”
•The position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics:  “consumers can safely enjoy a range of nutritive and nonnutritive sweeteners when consumed within an eating plan that is guided by current federal nutrition recommendations, such as the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the Dietary Reference Intakes, as well as individual health goals and personal preference.”
•The American Diabetes Association states: “foods and drinks that use artificial sweeteners are another option that may help curb your cravings for something sweet.”