A new study about to be published in June’s issue of Obesity was released with the title ‘Diet Beverages Help people Lose Weight.’ The clinical study, performed at the University of Colorado’s Anschutz Health and Wellness Center, tested 303 people over 12 weeks. All the people in the study got weight loss help and coaching over the course of the three months, but only one group was allowed to drink diet drinks. The other control group was only allowed to drink water and no diet soda.
However, to be allowed into the study, you had to already drink diet beverages on a regular basis. So the people in the water, or ‘control’ group were, in fact, giving up diet soda and starting a weight loss coaching plan at the same time.
The Results from the Weight Loss Study:
* The people who drank the diet drinks lost an average 13 pounds, which was 44 percent more than the control group.
* 64 percent of the subjects who drank the diet beverages lost at least five percent of their body weight, which was 43 percent more than the control group.
According to the study authors, the people who drank the diet beverages over the three months:
* Reported feeling significantly less hungry
* Showed significantly greater improvements in serum levels of total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) — the so-called “bad” cholesterOL
* Saw a significant reduction in serum triglycerides.
So What Can We Learn from the Study?
Both groups received intensive diet and weight loss coaching during the course of the study. But only the ‘control’ group had to give up something- diet soda. When asked about this piece to the puzzle, Dr. Jim Hill, one of the study’s authors acknowledged:
It makes sense that it would have been harder for the water group to adhere to the overall diet than the (artificially-sweetened beverage) group…The most likely explanation was that having access to drinks with sweet taste helps the (artificially-sweetened beverage) group to adhere better to the behavioral change program.
So the main conclusion, it seems, is that giving up diet drinks while starting a weight loss plan might affect how quickly you lose weight.
Other Important Considerations about Diet Soda:
ThIs study was funded by the American Beverage Association, which includes Coca Cola and Pepsi. There have been also been peer-reviewed studies that have shown that a daily diet soda habit might cause people to eat more calories during the day and leads to a higher risk of heart attack, stroke, and cardiovascular disease.
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