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Longest Study: Diet Drinks Match Water for Weight Loss
11 Oct
Summary
- Diet soda drinkers lost 4.8 kg, water drinkers 3.7 kg over two years.
- Both groups showed similar improvements in waist, blood pressure, and cholesterol.
- Artificial sweeteners did not disrupt appetite or cause weight gain in the trial.
A comprehensive two-year study, the longest randomized controlled trial of its kind, has revealed that daily consumption of diet sodas led to similar weight loss and metabolic health improvements as drinking water.
The SWITCH trial, involving 493 adults with overweight or obesity, found that participants drinking diet beverages lost an average of 4.8 kg over 104 weeks, compared to 3.7 kg in the water-drinking group. Both groups experienced comparable reductions in waist and hip circumference, as well as improvements in blood pressure and cholesterol.
Researchers noted that sugar intake decreased in both groups, with a slightly greater reduction in the diet soda cohort, suggesting a potential substitution of sugar-sweetened beverages. The study's lead professors highlighted that the findings do not support concerns about sweeteners disrupting appetite or causing weight gain.
However, the study's limitations include industry funding from the American Beverage Association and that all participants were part of a weight management program, which may affect generalizability. It also did not examine long-term effects on gut health, liver health, or cardiovascular risk beyond the two-year scope.
