Diet Soda and Obesity: Is There a Link?
Research undertaken by the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio appears to show a link between consumption of diet soda and weight gain.
The study of more than 600 normal-weight people found, eight years later, that they were 65 percent more likely to be overweight if they drank one diet soda a day than if they drank none. And if they drank two or more diet sodas a day, they were even more likely to become overweight or obese.
To the astonishment of many, it seems that those who drank diet soda had a greater chance of becoming overweight than did those who drank regular, full-calorie soda.
By no means does this state that diet soda causes obesity - but there is a strange pattern at play here. Diet Soda has zero calories so what gives?
One possibility: A person who drinks a diet soda may feel it's OK to make up for those calories with another high-calorie food.
Do those artificial sweeteners make you crave the real thing?
More like this in Health
155 Comments
Add Your Comment
ADVERTISING
New
- FROM DIET BLOG
- On-Off Fasting: Does It Work?
- 400 Calorie Fix
- 5 Factor World Diet
- Quick Giveaway: Powerhouse Weight Loss Game
- FORUM
- Low Carb Atkins Diet- Tips to Cut the Carbs.
- How Can I Gain a Healthy Weight and Keep it?
- How Do I Eat Healthy at University?
- Starving Myself and Exercising, But Not Losing an Ounce?
Categories
| Body Image Celebrities Diet Pills Diets Exercise |
Fast Food Funny Stuff Success Stories Teens and Kids Tips and Tools |
RSS Feed
Follow @DietBlog on Twitter
I found an article online that sounds just like my problem.
-------
RABBI MARC SACK THOUGHT HE WAS DOING ALL THE RIGHT THINGS TO LOSE WEIGHT, HE DRANK DIET SOFT DRINKS, CYCLED ABOUT 70 MILES A WEEK, AND LIMITED SWEETS.
HE STRUGGLED WITH HUNGER. "a big issue for me was appetite control." BUT WHEN THE WEIGHT WASN'T COMING OFF, HE SAW A DIETITIAN.
http://fox61tv.com/first/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=625&Itemid=39
ReplyAfter week 1 of stopping all soda, diet and regular, I noticed an inital loss of weight, then a slight rebound.
It went like this 205, 202.6, 201.6, 200.8, 203.6 to finish up 1 week. (always weigh in morning, no clothes, before shower)
Of course day to day fluctuations are normal/expected. However, I have been stuck at 205/206 for a very long time. I'm beginning
to believe that diet soda does not directly, but indirectly affects my weight. What I mean is, avoiding soda has benefits in weight loss,
by decreasing my appetite in general, for sweets especially, but is not the plateau killer I was looking for. I did a lot of reading online,
Google "Weight Loss Plateau".
I am beginning to believe that your body simply adjusts to whatever you are doing for a period of time, thus causing plateaus.
Read "set point theory". For example, you cut from 2500 calories a day to 1500. You will lose weight in week 1, maybe more weeks, but then it stops. I think your body
somehow adjusts to AVOID losing more weight. Your body gets "used" to those calories and burns more efficiently.
It can get complex also. You could possibly lose muscle if you don't eat enough, then there's the whole
mixture of protein, fat, fiber, etc. It gets extremely complicated.
I believe the same thing applies to excercise. If you run every day, and do nothing else, your body adjusts to that activity and does it more
effeciently.
Therefore, it may be possible to break plateaus by keeping your body "guessing". Alternating workouts, and training styles. I was doing
long slow runs over and over. Maybe I need to mix in some sprints, get the heart racing. I've heard tons of people swear that lifting weights
will jolt your metabolism, even though I hate the gym I may need to get in there.
I will alternate sports, swim, bike, climb, anything to change it up.
As for eating, I have read online some people have success using the zig zag method. The basic idea is to avoid eating the same #
of calories EVERY day. One article said to get a baseline of your current calorie intake (say 2000). Then, Sunday thru Friday afternoon go 500 calories
below that baseline (1500). However, on Friday night and all day Saturday eat 500 above that baseline (2500). This "may" help avoid plateaus
by NOT allowing your body to adjust to anything routine. I will try this. Google: "ZIG ZAG DIET DR. SQUAT"
As for diet soda, I do feel better without it, and my hunger isn't as bad and my sweet tooth has diminished.
I'm going to continue "not" drinking diet sodas for those reasons. Of course, one week of testing isn't enough. It's
possible that it may take months to see affects, but for now, I'm pretty sure it's not good for you.
I hope this helps.
ReplyDr. J--Ah, Duluth, the Great Cold North, LOL. I am back to training since my ITBS has finally gone away (I found out it was being irritated by my old shoes). I have to find some new long run routes though...all my current ones are getting boring, lol. I'd love to get in touch with Tatiana...sounds like she knows what she's doing.
Timothy-You definitely need to mix up your runs if you want to see real progress. Too many long slow runs and you WILL get used to them. Have you tried doing sprint intervals? That's what I do when I get bored with my running routine...I sprint as fast as I can to see if I can improve my time.
ReplyI don't know what your starting weight was, but I went down from right around 200 to my current weight of 165 (body fat 9.5%, which is fine with me). I leveled out at the high 170s for quite some time, and the only way I was able to break out of it was to *increase* my intake, let myself get out of starvation, and start again.
Good luck!
ReplyThanks for your responses everyone, I read them all.
Quito, you said you went from 200 down to 165. How long did this take you?
Last Sunday I attempted a slow 20 miler. I finished 18 miles and my legs told me to quit. I was feeling terrible. Partially because it was hot, but I am still getting in shape and that was my longest run of 2007. I believe that if my weight were not so much, this would be much much easier.
I will attempt one more 20-22 mile run before my marathon on Labor day, and that will tell me if I am able to finish it or not. (Otherwise, I'll just do the 1/2 marathon instead)
[CHANGING WORKOUT ROUTINE]
Since I suspected my long slow runs weren't helping so much I started mixing in tempo runs this week. I ran a few "builds" where you start off slow and run faster and faster and build into a sprint.
I ran a few 1/2 milers at a higher rate of speed. And you are right - you DO have to be careful because in the past this is when I hurt myself - running faster.
I also went to the track one day and did an anaerobic workout to mix things up. I got a jump rope, and tried to jump 1/4 mile. Mostly to build calf and thigh strength. This is extremely difficult. Legs together, jump forward as far as you can. I usually get about 40 yards - heart is RACING.
I would then drop the rope and walk around the track. When I got back to my rope I'd do it again for 30 yards or so, until I completed the track. Sounds crazy, but it's a fun challenge and creates major leg burn. :) I did pushups, situps, and some short sprints. I also did some hill climbs and stair runs. I know this is weird, but anything to stay out of the gym (SO BORING).
As for my weight, I logged in my weight this morning. I've been dieting seriously for 4 weeks now. I'm at the end of week 4.
From my workout log
------------------------------
4/9/07 212 Start working out 4-6 hours a week.
My weight would go up and down, would hover, but not down directly.
I was also eating poorly most of the time until 7/5/07.
START DIETING SERIOUSLY
7/ 5/07 209.4
7/12/07 206.0 -3.4 (good week, but this always happens first week of my diet)
7/19/07 205.4 -.6 (wondering if i hit plateau. STOPPED drinking ALL soda)
7/26/07 202.6 -2.8 (was it the soda? did I break my typical plateau? I have no idea?)
8/ 3/07 201.4 -1.2 (today)
This shows an average loss, in 4 weeks, of 2 pounds per week.
ReplyWhich in hindsight is good. But I've seen myself plateau SO MUCH in the past that
anytime I see a bad week after the work it's really discouraging.
fluctuations.
Ok, after several weeks of no diet-sodas I have reached a conclusion (my opinion). My weight loss has remained stagnant despite excercise, diet and no diet sodas.
1. Diet soda's alone do not affect weight loss directly.
2. I crave food and sweets much less when I do not drink diet soda. Hunger pangs are not as frequent and severe.
I will continue to not drink diet sodas. I believe Aspartme is generally bad for you and makes you desire food more.
ReplyIt's pretty simple: fat (obese/overweight) people tend to drink diet sodas. Take a look around at the people with diet sodas in their hands. There's your pattern.
My personal opinion, as a rough generalization, is that people who are health conscious tend skip soda all together. People who drink diet soda tend to think that they're really doing something good because of the word "diet," and can therefore eat junk to compensate. Not to mention (as a generalization), I would think that the people reaching for diet sodas aren't very well educated when it comes to nutrition. Enough so that the foods they eat throughout the day is the real cause of their weight...not the diet soda.
In even simpler terms: People who have overall unhealthy diets drink diet soda. Fat people drink diet soda. Psych 101 tells you that correlation does not prove causation. The diet soda may be correlated with heavier people, however, it's not the cause. They should study profile of the person that drinks diet soda, as I'm sure that the answer to the reason(s) of their obesity would be found there.
ReplyThis all seems to make sense on the surface, but I have some problems with the theroy. Insulin production is not stimulated by the brain. It is regulated "humorally", which means by "body fluid," in this case, the blood. The pancreas is what senses low or high glucose in the blood, then responds accordingly. Insulin is not stored as fat, but the extra glucose is. So what I don't understand is how the body can mistake artificial sweetener for the real thing when the tongue tastes it, when it will not affect glucose levels in the blood.
Regardless, I was addicted to Dr. Pepper for years! I tried many times to switch to diet, but was rewarded with a bad headache for all my efforts. I started the Atkins diet about 2 weeks ago, and I was craving a soda soo badly, that I drank a diet Mountain Dew, and it wasn't too bad. However, my weight loss isn't as fast as I would like it to be, so I am quitting the 2 cans/day diet MD completely, and just sticking to the water. PRAY FOR ME! ;)
Replyit may cause the insulin spike or whatever, but even if you're drinking diet coke you still have to watch what you eat, and it is definitely not just as bad for you as regular soda. when i switched to diet soda, i lost 5 pounds in about a month, and i did nothing else. there are SO MANY calories in regular soda, so maybe if you drink one can a day it will balance out, but more than that certainly won't. Another cause for the diet soda causing weight gain is that caffine is a diuretic, which dehydrates you...many people think they're hungry when they're dehydrated, and eat more. water is best, but i still love me some diet coke!
ReplyI am 27 yrs old, 5'5 115 pounds (Small frame). I started drinking Regular Pepsi at 17 when I worked at KFC. Over time my pop intake increased to 12 cans a day. I craved sweet and salty snacks. Although I never gained weight, I did notice that my health declined.
At the age of 25, my skin started acting out, patches of dry flakey skin spread all over my body. I was diganosed with an auto-immune deficiency, PSORIASIS. I felt like a leper, my skin cracked, bled, and covered my scalp, face, arms, legs and back. I was given strong medicine, but the psorasis got worse, so I stopped the medicine. My self esteem crashed, I was tired all the time, always felt dehydrated..but I did not give up my love for pop.
6 months ago, I realized I had to get my health back. Now I am on a CLEAN EAT DIET. Basically returning to natural foods God intended for our bodies to eat. I no longer eat processed food, hormone induced meat etc. Back to the basics Vegetables, Fruit, Lean Meat, Whole Grains (Oatmeal etc) Green Tea and Water. I eat 6 times a day..now my body looks lean and muscular but the bonus I have cleared up drastically, I look normal again.
Being overweight is one of the many health concerns involved with pop {sugar) intake. So do yourselves a favor and stop denying the obvious POP is NOT good for you.
ReplyHey There,
ReplyI"ve been reading the posts and congrats to Timonty!
I found your posts interseting. I stopped drinking diet soda about a month ago (when i turned 30) and started excercising about 6 days a week (ARC trainer, Elliptical), as well as lifting weights. I also watch what i eat (no fast food).
I started at 5'5 137 lbs....I"ve only lost 2 lbs , but have seemed to gain quite a bit of muscle. My goal weight is 125lbs....doesn't seem like I've made too much progress...any suggestions? Email me at RBargeloh@aol.com. Take care
Really mean and undeserved response.
Reply
1 i think that was rude
Reply2 listen to what she said, clearly shes saying since cutting out the soda its looking great... meaning compared to before. That doesn't means she has a perfect conplection just that its gotten a lot better and for her compared to usual its great.
I can't speak for others,however, in my own personal experience drinking diet soda on a regular basis makes me ALOT hungrier during the day. It's not a matter of thinking I can eat more it's having more intense hunger pangs!!!!
ReplyDIET COKE AND WEIGHT GAIN???
I have often wondered about the link between these artificial sweetners and weight gain. Its seems only the obese who are concerned with caloric/carbohydrate intake use them. How often I would see the skinny girls drinking regular coke, while I sipped water and seemed to gain. Almost a year ago, I made a change in my life. I had a 5 diet coke/day habit and I kicked it. I changed nothing else, replaced the diet coke with plain aquafina bottled water and so far have dropped 35pounds.
ReplyI posted on this thread early in 2007 and would like to say;
I've still been drinking diet soda (my fix of the moment is caffeine free diet Dr. Pepper), and I'm currently 116 lbs.
Hm. Where's that inevitable obesity again?
ReplyI am not a proponent of aspartame or any of the other artificial sweeteners, even my favorite; "Splenda" has fallen from grace. The more we educate ourselves, the more we will get a clearer picture of what is good for us, what isn't, and what may not be great, but we may still eat anyway.
As a diabetic of 45 years, and having had this condition for 26 years, any weight gain I have experienced has been due to... too much intake, not enough burned off.
My Father, "a wise man" would wonder what we all did before canned pop, artificial sweeteners, health clubs, and diet groups?
Many times we would like to blame someone else for our weight issues by looking to a specific item in our diet as the culprit. There has been some real good advice given here on this forum to look at our complete diet, along with our activity level, and we need to follow it.
Here is a website that can help us all continue to grow in our knowledge of what we will choose to ingest.
http://www.sweetpoison.com/aspartame-sweeteners.html
ReplyOr maybe the people that were gaining weight were more likely to drink diet soda. The study just shows that drinking diet soda is correlated with weight gain rather than CAUSES weight gain. Insulin spike or no, if you just drink diet soda and don't consume any excess I really don't believe that diet soda alone causes weight gain. If a study doesn't show cause and effect it shouldn't be so misleadingly worded as if it does.
ReplyIf you have a heavy diet soda habit and you replace it with water all of a sudden, you're going to lose a significant amount of water weight, but not fat. Regardless, water is undoubtedly better for you than diet soda.
But I still think that if you absolutely need an occasional soda, diet is far better for you than regular sugary colas.
ReplySorry, but this is really annoying me. The conclusion of the study could have also been worded as:
"To the astonishment of few, it seems those that had a greater chance of becoming overweight, drank more diet soda than regular, full-calorie soda."
And this is much much much less astonishing.
Am I right?
ReplyHey
What if you drink diet soda, but you dont eat more food then you did without it? I know there is health risks but other then that, will i gain weight if i drink diet coke, and not eat more then i am now (Ill live with hunger :) )
Thanks
Tyler
ReplyI started drinking diet sodas because I was drinking so much soda. I figured if I was going to drink it it should be diet. I have lost weight gradually just by that change alone..15lbs in a year. I dont think that just becuase I drink diet soda I should make up for it with other food..that is ridiculous and just defeats the purose, but I do feel less guilty having an occassional candy bar. Coke zero is my favorite, Ive even been able to pursuade my husband over to diet.
ReplyDiet coke helped me lose weight. I only had ten pounds to loose but it worked for me!
ReplyI too have been a 7 plus can or sometimes bottle of Diet Coke drinker a day for many years. I have tried many times to kick the habit, but all without success. As soon as I tried to cut down my body would react with mood swings, migraines, and overall just feeling terrible, so I had to return to drinking it. That was until just five days ago. A friend of mine, Bill, knew how much of the stuff I was drinking and knew how bad I felt when I tried to kick this habit and brought me something that has replaced my addiction once and for all. After the third day of replacing Diet Coke with this product my need for the fix went away. The best thing of all, I have had no withdrawals, no headaches or migraines, no craving, nothing. Plus the healthy feeling and energy has been fantastic. Energy drinks are a very popular thing today, but all of them have huge amounts of caffeine and sugar. This drink however is the first all natural, no bad caffeine and no processed or artificial sweeteners at all. Not only this, it has the nutrition that other drinks don't have, giving people a natural long lasting energy release and healthy feeling to boot. If you want to read my whole story, check out my site, www.dietdrinkaddiction.com
ReplyI just wanted to spread my happy news to others. I am a physician, and while in 3rd year of medical school, now 7 1/2 years ago, I started drinking diet coke, which became my regular daily basis drink. Whenever I went anywhere, my drink of choice with food was diet coke. I thought I was doing a good thing for my body. I went from 128lb to 165 over this time. Yes, I am sure I ate more, and I blamed it on my diet and not enough exercise. I have tried weight watchers, and at most lost about 7lb with it. I have been hearing about diet coke and weight gain for some time now, but didn't believe it. Finally, 8 weeks ago, in mid-march, when my weight was 162lb, I decided to cut out the diet coke and see what happens. Today, May 10th, I weigh 144lb. In 8 weeks I lost almost 20lb. And just like some others wrote in their notes, I did NOT change anything else with my diet. (well, except that I started choosing unsweetened iced tea when i go out instead of diet coke. and now i've been drinking a lot of iced green tea). otherwise, nothing else has changed. I am ecstatic with whats going on and wanted to share this with everyone! I am not sure if diet coke increased my appetite so that i ate more when i drank diet coke with it, but I don't think thats it alone. I truely believe that diet coke caused me to store the fat which i ate from food more so than without it. Last time i told people about my progress, I lost 6lb. Now I am approaching 20. Over the last 2 weeks or so I've been preatty stable with my weight though, losing only 2lb over the 2 week period. again, i have NOT on purpose done ANYTHING to change my diet. Now though, it feels nice with the weight the way it is. when i reached below 160lb mark, i became very happy to know that i weight 150 something. then, when i went below 150, i was excited to know that i weight 140 something. but not only that, when you step on the scale, especially when i step on the patient scales at work, I don't have to put the metal bar on 150 mark and then move the small one further to the right, as now my base is 100 and the small one on 144. I am just amazed, i weight myself often now, just seeing what happens next.
Over the last day or so, now that my weight is stabilizing, i am becoming worried that i may gain it back and trying to pay attention to exactly what i am did to get myself to this point. but really, i didn'd do anything. avoided artificial sweeteners, avoided diet coke. thats all..
now weighting 144, which is still a lot for others, but for me it feels good. someone even called me "skinny minni" at work. Now I want to do something to actually continue this process. so i am going to be really watching what i eat. but i know, at least for myself, when i feel like i am restricting myself in things, i will end up overeating in the long-run, and will only gain weight.
i am trying to share my news with others, and i only hope for people to try this and enjoy their results like i did.
ReplyHere is some news for those of you who want to drink your diet coke... do it.
I'm 40 years old, height 5-10. In January I weighed 230 and I now weigh 189 and dropping. I've cut my calories to 1500 to 1800 per day and I do cardio for 45 minutes a day... real cardio with my heart rate in the correct zone. I started at 20 minutes per day and progressed over time.
I drink 2 to 5 diet cokes per day and have for some time. I lose 1 to 2 pound per week, every week but did hit a plateau at 200 which took me 4 weeks to break. I did it by altering my caloric intact and I added sprints to my workout.
Eat less food, exercise each day, at least 30 minutes per day 6 days per week, and have a long term focus. Don't weigh yourself everyday either, do it once a week.
Replyjust an addendum to what i wrote earlier, on may 10, 2008. i am now 134 and have been this weight for several weeks now. drinking a lot of green tea, no more diet coke or any sugar substitutes (no splenda, or "diet things"). am careful with what I eat, but make sure that its "natural", no more 40mg of carbs and only 1 or so of fiber and several or no sugars. what are the other carbs???? substitutes. this is all that i did different in my life. now i don't crave sweets that much and don't have such a large appetite either, eating less because i don't want to eat as much anymore. I am called "skinny minny" at work now, and yesterday I was told "you are HOT" while outside in the city by a complete stranger. I am HOT???? never in my life was i called that. just a few months ago I was 165 pounds, now I am 135. wow....
ReplyThanks Marianne. I, too believe that Diet Coke consumption (or anything with Aspartame/Nutrasweet in it) is keeping me from my weight-loss goals.
In 2002, I had my 4th child, and decided it was time to lose all the baby weight. After 3 months post-partum, I began an exercise plan 3-4 times per week, and modified my eating slightly (no sweets at night, less carbs, less sodas) but didn't totally eliminate the Diet Coke. It took 7 months, but I lost 30 lbs. I was able to maintain that loss for about a year (flucuating up & down 3-5 lbs).
Then, Feb 2004 I was put on a stressfull project that had me working crazy hours. But, the mgmnt kept us "happy" by bringing in breakfast, lunch & dinner for weeks!! I made casual mention of "How come no diet sodas and just regular sodas?" Next morning.... there was a case of Diet Coke sitting on my desk!
Thus, I began have a can or 2 each day. By the end of the project (18 months)... I gained 15 lbs. And, found out in August 2005 I was pregnant again.
During the pregnancy, I stopped the Diet Coke. After he was born in April 2006, I *tried* to drink Diet Coke again, but... seriously, it tasted like poison to me!!! That was a first! So, I just tried Diet Pepsi. SAME THING! I enjoyed a long maternity leave, and resorted to iced tea sweetened w/ STEVIA. It took awhile to get used to the new flavor, but I needed something since I don't drink coffee.
The baby weight fell off effortlessly.
But, by Sept 2006.... I found myself BACK on the Diet Coke habit. It's now Sept 2008. I have not only gained all the weight I lost post-baby, but a few more. Three (3) months ago, I began the hardcore workout routine again. Although I am seeing more tone and strength... I have not lost ONE OUNCE!!
I just noticed this week, that my Diet Coke consumption went from my usual 1 can per day w/ lunch to 3-4 cans per day!!!
I stumbled onto this blog/website and did more research... and I am more convinced than ever not only how BAD aspartame is for the human body, but it's link to weight gain (or inability to lose).
Today, 9/18/08 is Day 2 off of Diet Coke! Minor headaches and fatigue, but I know that will pass. Not working out since I injured my ankle last week. So, I will post my weight here, today as 180 lbs (I weighed 162 when I had my first child in 1996. I am a mother to 5 children). I will post my progress at the end of October and let you know how things have changed, if at all.
thanks for reading.....
ReplyI have developed a theory of my own that I would like to hear comments on. I have been drinking a lot of diet soda, probably 4-5 per day. A couple years ago I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, which is essentially "insulin resistance". My theory is this: If diet soda causes an insulin spike, it is possible that prolonged use of diet soda could lead to your body developing a resistance to insulin. I have recently switches to unsweet green tea. I am hoping that if my theory is correct, by switching to green tea, I may be able to re-develop an appropriate sensitivity to insulin. I do know that my blood sugar has gone up since I stopped diet soda. I think this is potentially because of less insulin constantly being released. I am hoping that with diet and exercise, that the insulin resistance is reversable.
ReplyYou people are pussies, get some will power, I drink diet soda and drink beer and lost 40 pounds. Instead of being on here complaining to to the gym.
Reply