Less Americans purchased diet sodas and beer in 2013 than a few years ago, according to new research data.
ABC News reported popular beer brands saw a shift in sales between 2007 and 2012. According to the study results published in industry journal Beer Marketer's Insights, sales of Michelob Light plummeted 70 percent and Bud Select's numbers saw a 60 percent decrease in the five-year period. Overall, beer sales were down 2.3 percent between 2007 and 2012.
Soda brands also took a similar hit in their sales figures.
"Store sales of zero- and low-calorie soda plunged 6.8 percent in dollar terms in the 52 weeks through Nov. 23, while sales of regular sodas dropped 2.2 percent, according to Wells Fargo, citing Nielsen scanner data. As a category, diet soda has contracted more than regular soda for three straight years," according to The Wall Street Journal.
Wells Fargo researchers reported sales of zero- and low-calorie soda decreased 7 percent in 2013. However, regular soda brands saw a 2 percent overall plummet in their sales.
The reasoning behind diet soda's drop in sales remains unconfirmed. However, TIME reported one possibility could be because consumers are not convinced of the benefits of drinking diet cola. According to research presented at American Diabetes Association's (ADA) Scientific Sessions in 2011, diet sodas aren't effective in preventing weight gain.
"Scientists speculate that artificial sweeteners fool more than just your palate; they also fool your brain. When you taste something sweet, your body naturally expects a calorie-load that diet beverages don't deliver," the research claims, according to TIME. "As a reaction, the metabolic system may start converting the sugar that's already circulating in the blood into fat, on the assumption that more has just come in that can be used as energy."
Read more about the reported diet soda "myths," here.
