A new study suggests that people who drink diet beverages are likely to eat more than those who drink sweetened drinks.
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University led by Sarah Bleich analyzed the data gathered from a survey of 24,000 people for a period of ten years. The survey results showed that those who were obese or overweight consumed the same amounts of calorie daily regardless of what they drink, whereas, those who choose to drink diet beverages tend to get more calories from the food that they eat.
The participants who were obese and chose to drink diet beverages consumed an average of 2.058 calories while obese people who drank regular drinks consumed a total of 1, 897 calories a day.
The researchers believe that the findings of their study and data from other research reflect that artificial sweeteners may have an effect on people's metabolism. They theorized that people tend to eat more because they think that they are saving calories by choosing diet drinks.
"The push to diet soda may not make a lot of sense if you are then also eating more solid food," Bleich said to Reuters. "The switch from a sugary beverage to a diet beverage should be coupled with other changes in the diet, particularly reducing snacks."
However, according to professor of psychology at the Duke University and Sanford School of Public Policy dean, Kelly Brownell, although the study shows interesting results, there are still many questions left unanswered as to how artificial sweeteners affect one's diet.
"People need to separate the biology from the psychology," Prof. Brownell said to Reuters.
On the other hand, the beverage industry also commented on the issue. On Thursday, the American Beverage Association issued a statement saying, "Losing or maintaining weight comes down to balancing the total calories consumed with those burned through physical activity,"
The study published in the Jan. 16 issue of the American Journal of Public Health.
