Diet Soda Linked To Weight Gain [View All]

[WhiteTara]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/29/diet-soda-weight-gain_n_886409.html

A study presented at a American Diabetes Association meeting this week shows that drinking diet soda is associated with a wider waist in humans. And a second study shows that aspartame -- the artificial sweetener in diet soda -- actually raises blood sugar in mice prone to diabetes.

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Researchers found that the diet soda drinkers had waist circumferences 70 percent greater than those who non-diet soda drinkers. And people who drank diet soda the most frequently -- at least two diet sodas a day -- had waist circumferences that were 500 percent greater than people who didn't drink any diet soda, the study said.

Diet soda didn't produce any better results in the second study in mice. Researchers for this study found that diabetes-prone mice that were fed a diet that included aspartame for three months, had higher blood glucose levels than mice not given aspartame.

This isn't the first news illuminating diet soda's health risks. A study published earlier this year found people who drink the beverage every day have a higher stroke and heart attack risks. And UK researchers found earlier this month that sugary drinks can dull taste buds, leading consumers to crave the sweet stuff even more.