Posted on 06/14/2005 6:52:33 PM PDT by Nov3
Tufts researchers recently reported that while the leading source of calories in the average American diet used to be from white bread, that may have changed. Now, according to preliminary research conducted by scientists at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, Americans are drinking these calories instead. The research was presented in abstract form at the Experimental Biology Conference in April of this year and a more comprehensive paper is being developed.
Odilia Bermudez, PhD, MPH, studied the reported diets of a large nationwide sample of American adults. Among respondents to the 1999-2000 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), more than two thirds reported drinking enough soda and/or sweet drinks to provide them with a greater proportion of daily calories than any other food. In addition, obesity rates were higher among these sweet drink consumers. Consumers of 100% orange juice and low fat milk, on the other hand, tended to be less overweight, on average.
Bermudez, who is also an assistant professor at Tufts University's Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, is hopeful that, "by helping to identify the main sources of excess energy in the American diet, this work may contribute to the development of much-needed strategies to combat obesity in the American public."
"These results are startling," she continued, "and indicate that we need a much better understanding of how the American diet has changed. Our paper will look more closely at the issue of sweet drink consumption and its relation to obesity factors among three of the main ethnic groups included in the national surveys: African Americans, Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites."
Unfortunately, it looks like Coca Cola Zero still has aspartame in it, along with the Splenda. Coke must have signed an oath in blood that NutraSweet would be in all of their diet products forever.
I'll stick to Diet Rite cola - or Boylan Sugar Cane cola when I occasionally want the real stuff. ;)
Last Thanksgiving, I saw my 16-year-old nephew go through a 2-liter bottle of Pepsi (3000 calories?) and half a blueberry pie. Believe it or not, he's a fat pig.
I'm partial to lime diet Coke and diet Dr. Pepper myself. Is that a bad thing?
Juices are not remotely as healthy as whole fruits. They are little better than sodas, all commercials aside.
I quit having a Coke every morning during Lent and it almost kills me.
natural orange juice doesn't have the same effect...
Drink More Diet Soda, Gain More Weight
Fox News
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
By Daniel J. DeNoon
People who drink diet soft drinks don't lose weight. In fact, they gain weight, a new study shows.
The findings come from eight years of data collected by Sharon P. Fowler, MPH, and colleagues at the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio. Fowler reported the data at this week's annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association in San Diego.
"What didn't surprise us was that total soft drink use was linked to overweight and obesity," Fowler tells WebMD. "What was surprising was when we looked at people only drinking diet soft drinks, their risk of obesity was even higher."
In fact, when the researchers took a closer look at their data, they found that nearly all the obesity risk from soft drinks came from diet sodas.
"There was a 41 percent increase in risk of being overweight for every can or bottle of diet soft drink a person consumes each day," Fowler says.
More Diet Drinks, More Weight Gain
Fowler's team looked at seven to eight years of data on 1,550 Mexican-American and non-Hispanic white Americans aged 25 to 64. Of the 622 study participants who were of normal weight at the beginning of the study, about a third became overweight or obese.
I'd be inclined to believe that the people drinking diet sodas perhaps did so because they knew their other eating habits were more inclined to make them fat. Thin people don't need to drink diet sodas, so why would they? Otherwise, it makes no sense that a zero-calorie beverage is going to make anybody fat.
Saw another report on tv with more detail. They say the "sweet" taste, although non-caloric on its own, stimulates appetite.
I understand Coca-Cola has the US rights for Fanta. You can try calling your local Coca-Cola distributor and see which stores they sell it to.
That may be.
Way back when, one of my junior admins would drink one of those 20 oz bottles in the morning and another in the pm. and probably a third at home for dinner.
Anecdotal? Sure, -- but somehow I don't think she was the exception to the rule.
I agree with you that the blasted food guide pyramid along with the dumping of hfcs and partially hydrogenated oils into everything at the same time has been culpable for this rapid rise in obesity and type 2 diabetes. When preteens are being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes there is a real problem out there. Most people did not get diagnosed with that until their 50's and older twenty years ago.
I have lost over 100 pounds by eating only whole real foods and basically not drinking any cokes or diet cokes. I will drink a diet coke when I eat out but when I started drinking a lot of water I just didn't want the diet cokes anymore.
They are thinking that it causes the insulin to release similar to when you eat sugar.
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My impression was "Coke Zero" was distinct from "Diet Coke", -- one with NutraSweet and the other with Splenda. Oh well.
Since I've lost any craving for sweet drinks, I won't have to worry about it. Water, coffee, & beer is the fluid spectrum for me.
The new Diet Coke with Splenda sucks.
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