It’s Official: Diet Soda Makes Us Fat

July 1, 2011 7:24 am 8 comments

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Art Jahnke

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Now we know why they call it diet soda: drink enough of it, and you'll have to go on a diet. A new study by researchers at the School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio suggests that drinking diet soda can make us very very fat. Time magazine reports that scientists at the school studied data from 474 older adults in the San Antonio Longitudinal Study of Aging, looking specifically at diet soda intake, height, weight and waist circumference. They found that while everyone's waistline expanded, those who reported drinking diet soda had 70 percent greater increases in waistline growth than non-drinkers 9.5 years later. Among those who consumed two or more diet sodas a day — waistline growth was 500 percent greater than among non-drinkers. Time reports that animal studies suggest that artificial sweetener consumption may lead to greater weight gain because it triggers the body to start storing more calories as fat.

8 Comments

Carole Barnett-Stopper

July 1, 2011
8:55 am

I KNEW this was true, been hearing it for many years. God help me, one more thing to quit! Of course I’m hooked on the stuff. Good news, new water system here, softening and drinking, so water will be a tastier alternative for brewing, cooking, and just plain drinking!
Living up to my nickname, progress not perfection!
TeaMumm

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tim

July 1, 2011
9:12 am

think that people who drink diet soda’s drink it because they are fat to begin with.I drink diet soda and no weight gain at all.

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David

July 1, 2011
11:38 am

Missing variable bias! The person who chooses to drink diet soda is fundamentally different than the one who chooses to drink regular soda. Thus, you do not know if it is the diet soda or the reason that people drink the diet soda that causes the weight gain. Alternatively, the people who drink diet soda might have had the same weight gain either way.

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john

July 4, 2011
7:44 am

i wanted to comment but reading some of the comments listed i dont want to be in the same group of dummies.
wow learn a little before commenting.

Reply
saleboter

July 4, 2011
11:52 am

as they said in Animal House Bull***t. Fat people drink diet soda does not make them fat. besides sugar is toxic to the human body and is the basic cause of the obesity and diabetic plague

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Jazz

July 5, 2011
10:44 am

Saleboter,
Read up on acidic versus alkaline. Diet soda is highly acidic. Body fat is created to neutralize acid.

Reply
Big Daddy

July 5, 2011
1:31 pm

Something I have noted: in many fast food places, I see very heavy people order the entire left side of the menu and a diet soda. Maybe it’s not the diet soda?

Reply
Doug

July 5, 2011
11:43 pm

The “Diet”, “Low Cal”, “No Fat” (etc) craze was just a marketing tool used to grab the segment of the populous that realized they were overweight, and agreed within themselves to do (something) about it. Thus they now had their own menu and products that they would buy, and feel good about doing so. Sorta your Mega-Hype Marketing ploy. Now these Industries could sell their junk to both ends of the consumer spectrum. The body however, doesn’t know the difference. 11-13 teaspoons of sugar in one 12 oz. portion, whether real or artificial, still posions the body the same way, or a different way. Get in line herd, and choose your poison if you must! Moooooooooooo

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