Diet soft drinks equal fat bellies, study suggests

Think that diet soft drink will help keep the middle-aged spread at bay? Think again.

Despite their name, ‘diet’ soft drinks have been directly linked to increased belly fat in older adults. A new study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society has shown that increased consumption of diet soft drinks is directly linked to greater abdominal obesity in adults aged 65 and older.

Previous research has shown that while the intake of artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, saccharin and sucralose has increased in the last 30 years, obesity has dramatically increased in the same period.

The data for the study was taken from the San Antonio Longitudinal Study of Aging (SALSA), which examined the waist circumference, height, weight and diet soft drink intake of 749 Americans aged 65 and older. They were measured at the start of the study and at three follow-ups for a total of 9.4 years.

The research showed that, for diet soft drink consumers, the increase in waist circumference at each follow-up interval was almost triple that of non-consumers. Daily users showed the greatest increase over the study period.

“The SALSA study shows that increasing diet soda intake was associated with escalating abdominal obesity, which may increase cardiometabolic risk in older adults,” said lead author Sharon Fowler, MPG, from the University of Texas Health Science Center.

The researchers recommended that older people who consume diet soft drinks daily should try to reduce their consumption of artificially sweetened beverages.