Thinking of turning to diet soda to stay thin? A new study published in the Journal of American Geriatrics Society may give you pause.
For years Americans have tried diet soda as a soft drink alternative in an effort to reduce sugar intake and lose weight. The artificial sweeteners in these drinks, such as aspartame and sucralose, along with some other additives included have raised health concerns. Now this new study has linked the consumption of diet beverages to an increase in belly fat, which could help to partially explain why obesity has increased over the past 30 years in America even as people have gravitated toward diet sodas.
The study, called the San Antonio Longitudinal Study of Aging (SALSA), evaluated the negative health effects of diet sodas on adults 65 years and older. It measured diet soda consumption, waist circumference and height and weight at four separate time intervals over a period of 10 years. About 400 participants from the San Antonio, Texas area were included in the study.
The results of the study indicated that daily diet soda drinkers experienced an increase in waist circumference that was three times more of those who did not drink diet soda. Non-drinkers experienced an average waist circumference increase of .80 inches, where occasional diet soda drinkers experienced an average increase of 1.83 inches. Strikingly, those who drank diet soda daily experienced an average interval increase of 3.16 inches. The researchers of the study accounted and adjusted for confounding variables such as chronic medical conditions.
While zero calories and no sugar may seem appealing for diet soda, it may be doing more harm than good for your weight loss and health goals. Syfo Naturally Flavored Sparkling Waters have no calories and are free of sugar, artificial sweeteners, sodium, preservatives or any other additives. With Syfolicious flavors like Wild Cherry, Tangerine-Orange and Lemon-Lime, you can lose the diet soda and the belly fat.
Read more about the belly fat study here.
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