Diet Soda vs. Healthy Weight

I have been writing about whether diet coke is better than regular coke for human’s health. I found that my first topic “diet” is relevant to “healthy weight” because recent reports say that diet drinks can cause weight gain and weight gain lead to many disease in our body. Dr.Katz, an internationally renowned authority on nutrition, weight management, and the prevention of chronic disease, says that he believes they can, but the science is not decisive.

The studies suggesting diet sodas, or anything containing sugar substitutes, can contribute to weight gain are based almost entirely on animal research. What scientists have found is that a rodent's brain relies on the link between taste and calories to keep track of just how much eating has occurred. The dissociation between sweet taste and calorie intake may put the regulatory system that controls hunger and body weight out of sync, thus sabotaging weight loss plans.

A study on rodents showed that those fed saccharin actually gained weight compared to rodents fed sucrose. The taste buds tell the brain that food is coming in, but the body doesn't get the energy it's expecting (Katz, 2009).The artificial sweeteners in diet sodas create a negative hormonal response in the body that increases fat storing hormone production and increases cravings for more sweets and refined carbohydrates in the time period after consuming the diet drink. Also people may subconsciously think that because they are drinking a diet soda, that gives them more leeway to eat more of everything else, hence consuming more calories overall.

Though some human studies indicate sugar substitutes help with short-term weight loss, an equal number suggest they don't. My particular concern is that artificial sweeteners are 200 to 13,000 times as sweet as sugar, and that is a potent stimulus for turning a sweet tooth into a fang. Other research suggests that the taste of sweetness is mildly addictive—the more you eat, the more you need to feel fully satisfied. If artificially sweetened sodas increase your cravings, the calories they take out of your diet are apt to sneak back in later when you, for instance, need a larger or sweeter dessert to feel satisfied (Katz, 2009).


People who are overweight, and particularly those who are obese, have higher rates of death and illness than people of healthy weight, both overall and from a range of specific conditions. These include cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, osteoarthritis, psychological problems and reproductive problems for women. Thus, when people drink diet soda when they are on a diet, the diet drink will not be the healthier choice than regular soda because it causes weight gain and it will lead to many health problems.


Reference

Katz, D. (2009, February). Do Diet Drinks Actually Cause Weight Gain? The Oprah Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.oprah.com/health/Can-Diet-Soda-Cause-Weight-Gain

Patient UK. (2010, August). Obesity and Overweight in Adults. Retrieved from http://www.patient.co.uk/health/Obesity-and-Overweight.htm



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