Diet Soda Linked to Increased Belly Fat in Older Adults

Yahoo News ^ | 3/17/15 | Agata Blaszczak Boxe - Livescience.com

[NormsRevenge]

Older adults who drink diet soda may experience greater increases in their waist size over a decade than those who do not drink diet soda, according to a new study.

Researchers found that the average increase in waist circumference among the people in the study who drank diet soda daily was more than triple that of the people who did not drink diet soda. Among the people who drank diet soda only occasionally, the increase was more than double that of those who did not drink diet soda.

"The more people drank diet sodas, the more their waistlines expanded," said study author Sharon Fowler, a researcher at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

Over the nine-year study, the waist size of the people who didn't drink any soda increased by an average of 0.8 inches. The average increase was 1.83 inches among those who drank diet soda occasionally, and 3.16 inches among those who drank it daily, according to the study.

In the study, the researchers followed a total of 749 Mexican Americans and European Americans who were 65 or older when the study started. The researchers asked them about their diet soda intake, and measured their waist circumference, height and weight when the study began, and at three follow-up points during the study period. [5 Experts Answer: Is Diet Soda Bad For You?]

Increased belly fat, which is usually what causes increased waist circumference, may raise people's risk of cardiovascular disease and other health issues because it increases inflammation, Fowler said.

[fatnotlazy]

I once read that there are approximately 16 calories in a teaspoon of sugar. 16 calories will hardly make you fat.

Now consuming the equivalent of a pound of sugar at one time is a whole ‘nuther matter.

[Snickering Hound]

[ExCTCitizen]

Diet soda causes belly fat? Please researchers... STFU...spend your own $$ not the TAXPAYERS on junk like this...

[GraceG]

(Probably because they think, “I’m drinking a diet soda, so I can go ahead and pig out on all this red meat...”)

Its not the red meat. It is the bread the sauce the potatoes the gravy etc etc.... that stuff really adds the weight.

[trisham]

I don’t believe any of these “studies”.

[dfwgator]

Heck, just remove the buns, and you've got a perfect Atkins-Friendly meal right there.

[ExCTCitizen]

Did you get a TAXPAYER research grant for that? If not...ask Obama for a 200 million dollar grant and you can waste most of it on trips... :-)

[piroque]

Who'da thunk *-? I always thunk it was the beer,,,

[beebuster2000]

I wonder, if you feed a hog diet coke, do you get more bacon?

[50sDad]

Correlation is not causation.

[RegulatorCountry]

I continue to drink diet because I became accustomed to it when I was carrying a few extra pounds. Regular sodas taste entirely too sweet and are sticky. Adults who drink diet putting on belly fat aren’t doing because of the diet sodas, their belly fat would just be that much more without them. Poor impulse control, too much snacking. Trying to counterbalance that with diet sodas and not succeeding.

[married21]

“I love the people that order double-cheeseburgers and large fries and a diet coke.”

---

I resemble that remark. I have enough self-control to ward off tooth decay, but not enough to ward off belly expansion.

[jjsheridan5]

So what are they saying? That diet soda actually causes you to get fat? Typical shallow article that doesn’t delve into causation vs. correlation.

I am going off of memory, so I could be way off. But apparently the problem with artificial sweeteners is that they are a favorite food of some bad bacteria, and not processed by good bacteria, so, over time, a diet soda consumer will undergo a change in their gut flora that will cause all kinds of digestive problems, including those that lead to obesity. Personally, I think diet sodas would be a very bad choice, even if they "worked" (which they probably don't, anyway). In addition to obesity, a diet soda consumer can also expect their stomach to become riddled with bacteria, leading to low acid production, and the GERD/NERD that inevitable follows.

[kjam22]

Thanks... yeah.. I agree. If you can burn it you can eat it. But, I’ve found my body is to old to run enough to burn off a bowl of ice cream every night at bedtime. I can’t do that anymore.... :)

[Mr Rogers]

I drink enough Diet Coke to float a battleship. I’m wearing 30 inch jeans, but only after losing 4 inches by avoiding breads and simple carbs. Still chugging down the Diet Coke.

Poorly designed study, mixing correlation with causation.

[pallis]

They may have something. I drink diet sodas, but I don’t eat much, never snack, and stay away from starch and sugar. Still, I have a problem gaining weight. Maybe it converts air into calories.

[catnipman]

“One would think there are too many other variables to simply come to this conclusion.”

Ya, think? Drinks diet soda vs. what? Soda with sugar? No soda at all? Age? Gender? Other kinds of food? Smoke? Drink booze? Other health issues? The list goes on and on. As you said, complete junk science.

[Tax-chick]

Regular sodas taste entirely too sweet and are sticky.

I agree. Much less icky when you spill something that's artificially sweetened.

It's not the Diet Coke: it's the box of Cheez-Its you ate while drinking the Diet Coke.

[myprecious]

I have a theory about diet soda. The sensation of sweetness signals that the body is going to receive nutrients. Fake sugar fails to deliver on that promise. The body responds by increasing hunger to compensate for the poor quality of the harvest. The cycle of hunger, lack of true nourishment, and instant gratification spirals out of control.

Just observation by middle aged RN. Size 2.

[vpintheak]

Is this one of those “correlation” studies?