Americans think that drinking diet sodas helps them lose weight, right? Well, a new study examining eight years of data on 1,550 Americans found that the diet soda drinkers gained weight rather than lost it.
The findings took the researchers by surprise, especially the fact that the risk of later becoming overweight or obese increased 41 percent for every can or bottle of diet soft drink a person consumed each day.
"What didn't surprise us was that total soft drink use was linked to overweight and obesity," Sharon P. Fowler, M.P.H. of the University of Texas Health Science Center told WebMDHealth.
"What was surprising was when we looked at people only drinking diet soft drinks, their risk of obesity was even higher," adds Fowler, who presented the data at the annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association in San Diego.
Fowler's study isn't the first to suggest that downing diet drinks could pack on the pounds, rather than peel them off. In fact, as I learned while researching and writing my book, SUGAR SHOCK!, other researchers and experts have come to similiar conclusions.
Americans think that drinking diet sodas helps them lose weight, right? Well, a new study examining eight years of data on 1,550 Americans found that the diet soda drinkers gained weight rather than lost it.
The findings took the researchers by surprise, especially the fact that the risk of later becoming overweight or obese increased 41 percent for every can or bottle of diet soft drink a person consumed each day.
"What didn't surprise us was that total soft drink use was linked to overweight and obesity," Sharon P. Fowler, M.P.H. of the University of Texas Health Science Center told WebMDHealth.
"What was surprising was when we looked at people only drinking diet soft drinks, their risk of obesity was even higher," adds Fowler, who presented the data at the annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association in San Diego.
Fowler's study isn't the first to suggest that downing diet drinks could pack on the pounds, rather than peel them off. In fact, as I learned while researching and writing my book, SUGAR SHOCK!, other researchers and experts have come to similiar conclusions.