Dieters
opting for low-calorie fizzy drinks to help boost their weight loss may
see their waistlines expand instead, experts have warned.
Rather
than encouraging the pounds to drop off, a new study has shown
regularly drinking diet sodas adds inches to a person's waist
measurement.
Scientists
at the University of Texas examined the lifestyles of 749
Mexican-American and European-American people, over the course of nine
years, in which 466 participants survived.
They tracked the number of fizzy drinks each person consumed, and whether or not they were diet drinks.
They found those who indulged in at least one diet drink a day gained at least three inches to their waistlines.
The
participants were interviewed at the beginning of the study and at
three follow-up visits, where researchers measured their waist
circumferences and other parameters.
Of
those who said they never consumed diet fizzy drinks, waist
circumference increased by less than one inch over the nine-year study
period, said Sharon Fowler, one of the study's lead authors.
Among
those reporting occasional consumption - drinking less than one diet
soda a day - waist circumference increased by around two inches.
And
for the group who said they consumed diet fizzy drinks every day, often
more than once a day, waist circumference increased by more than three
inches.
Past studies have highlighted the dangers of accumulating fat around the waist.
Researchers
have linked visceral fat - that which builds up around internal organs -
with increased inflammation and risk of metabolic disease, diabetes,
heart attack, stroke, cancer and mortality.
Dr
Fowler said: 'Because the study measured waist circumference as well as
total weight, we were able to look at what happened to participants'
abdominal obesity.
'The increases in abdominal fat were more than three times as great in daily diet soda users as in non-users.
'This
is during the very time in life when increasing waist circumference is
associated with increased risk of these serious medical conditions, and
mortality itself.'
In
2008 the same scientists published research which looked at the
association between drinking artificially sweetened drinks, and
long-term weight gain in participants.
They found
that among more than 3,600 25 to 65-year-old Mexican-Americans and
European-Americans followed for seven to eight years, body mass index
and the risk of obesity rose consistently the more artificially
sweetened drinks a person consumed.
As
part of the new study, the researchers adjusted statistically for a
large number of variables that could have affected the findings,
including initial waist size, exercise level and whether the participant
had diabetes or smoked.
'Even
when you adjust for those things, you have this independent effect of
diet soda consumption on waist circumference change over time,' senior
author, Dr. Hazuda said.
'There
is definitely debate about whether the association between diet soda
intake and cardiometabolic risk, which has been detected in several
large observational studies, is based on an actual causal relationship,'
Dr Fowler added.
'We
are simply reporting the statistical association we found: that, over
almost a decade, waist circumference increased significantly, in a
dose-response manner, with increasing diet soda intake in this group of
older individuals.
'These
results are consistent with findings from a number of other
observational studies of increased long-term risk of diabetes, heart
attack, stroke and other major medical problems among daily diet soda
users.'
Their findings were most pronounced among those people who were already overweight or obese at the outset of the research.
'In
spite of these limitations, however, the evidence, taken together with
relevant findings from other studies in both humans and animals, is
pretty compelling,' Dr. Hazuda said. 'We're trying to provide the
evidence base for meaningful decision-making to improve both the health
of individuals, and the public health.'
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