(Australia-NewsWire.Com, November 10, 2012 ) Victoria, Australia- Whether one loves or hates diet soda compared to the standard type, there is no doubting that its consumption is on the rise. More Americans than ever are drinking diet or no-calorie colas.
While the consumption is up across the populous to the tune of 20% use, its higher-income, middle-aged women who are most likely to sip on the “diet” drinks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
There is also evidence that the less Americans are consuming sugary sodas, and this begs the questions: Will one see any positive effects from switching to the “diet” alternatives. Two recent studies seem to think it is possible.
Overweight adolescents who received deliveries of water and zero-calorie drinks did significantly better at limiting their weight to teens who continued drinking sugary beverages, according to Boston Children’s Hospital.
“We found there was a difference of over five pounds on average,” says Cara Ebbeling of Harvard Medical School.
While the number may not sound overwhelmingly impressive, four pounds within a year, with no other significant changes is a rather stark contrast when considering growing bodies. This makes the evidence the strongest yet that removing sugar from diets can help influence overall weight control.
There have been concerns, however, that the lack of diet soda may increase appetite. The study concluded that this was simply not the case, at least in short-term order.
Danish researcher Bjorn Richelsen of Aarhus University Hospital compared drinkers of Diet Coke, water, milk and sugar-sweetened Coke.
"Our conclusion was quite clear," says Richelsen. Sugary coke led people to be slightly hungrier and to eat more. But Diet Coke had a more neutral effect on appetite. Volunteers did not increase their caloric intake in the four hours after drinking Diet Coke.
"We found if you're drinking soft drinks without calories it behaves [on the appetite] exactly like drinking water," Richelsen tells me.
It should be pointed out that all researchers avoided the concept of Diet Coke or other diet drinks being a necessity in a diet. Water is, of course, considered the best option overall.
"We're still learning a lot about diet soda," says Robert Lustig of the University of California, San Francisco.
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