Only Fat People Drink Diet Sodas, Right?

Published on Thursday, September 9, 2010, by Joyce Slaton / Edit Post

"Does Diet Soda Make You Fat?" in the Hungry Beast addresses this very question, and, sigh, comes up with a deeply equivocal answer. The results of two studies that author Susan B. Roberts calls "the best out there" are as follows: "In one five-week study conducted in 2008, 27 rats that were provided with a saccharin-sweetened yogurt ate more total food and gained more weight than rats fed sugar-sweetened yogurt. And it wasn’t because they loved the saccharin-sweetened yogurt—in fact, they tended to eat less of it, but went back to their regular chow for second helpings more often than the rats given sugar. On the other hand, a 2004 study of 24 French men and women, also for about five weeks, found that the individuals randomly assigned to include high-calorie, sugar-sweetened beverages in their diet did the most overeating—and had no better hunger control compared to a similar group allocated to consume artificially sweetened beverages."

So since they taste like sweetened rat urine, what on earth is the point of drinking diet sodas? Roberts has thoughts on that, too: "magnetic resonance imaging studies tracking the brain’s responses to sugar and intense sweeteners show that in our unconscious brain we know they are different—even while we perceive both of them as 'sweet-tasting' in our conscious brain. While this might seem like bad news, I view this as positive because it means we can still enjoy sweet taste without getting the neurological high that accompanies a rush of sugar calories."

So you enjoy what you're drinking, but you don't get a buzz. Roberts theorizes that over time we can retrain our brains to uncouple the connection between sugar and the dopamine rush we get from it: "In other words, using artificial sweeteners may actually make us like the real thing less over time, and provide a bridge to a healthier low-calorie, low-sugar diet that still tastes sweet due to our increased sensitivity for the sugars in natural foods."

Interesting. It is true that if you eat something super-sweet and then something not-so-sweet, the less-sweet item tastes almost sour in comparison. I had this happen just this morning, when I had a bowl of Fruity Pebbles (they are much less tasty than I remember from childhood!) and then ate some exceedingly ripe and delicious cantaloupe. The first bite of the melon was horrible. Only on bites two and three did the melon's sweetness emerge. Why is that? Your tastebuds get ... confused? I know it's different from the orange juice and toothpaste effect, but what causes it?

Image source: Flickr member wheany under Creative Commons

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  • I'm one of those 20+ million diabetics that FrankD thinks have superior opinions on this matter, though honestly I see no reason why a Diabetic couldn't be just as stupid as anyone else, and given that most of them think HFCS is great because "It doesn't effect blood glucose" the evidence would be that most of them are idiots.

    Anyway I totally agree that artificial sweeteners are worse for you...+READ

    I'm one of those 20+ million diabetics that FrankD thinks have superior opinions on this matter, though honestly I see no reason why a Diabetic couldn't be just as stupid as anyone else, and given that most of them think HFCS is great because "It doesn't effect blood glucose" the evidence would be that most of them are idiots.

    Anyway I totally agree that artificial sweeteners are worse for you than real sugars (cane sugar/sugar naturally occurring in fruit and veg, etc).

    However HFCS is does NOT qualify as "real" sugar, and the current info as best i know it indicates that the body doesn't produce insulin to deal with fructose like it does sucrose and other carbs, so sure HFCS doesn't effect blood glucose, but that does not mean it isn't there, and typically there for longer and in greater quantities. There is also some evidence that high levels of fructose in the blood will literally destroy the beta cells in the pancreas.

    I don't really blame the soda industry though, the US government keeps the sucrose price artificially high by putting MASSIVE tariffs on sugar imports, but you know whatever it takes to keep campaign contributions flowing in from the Florida sugar cane growers.-COLLAPSE

  • I'm not sure about the direct connection between having diet sodas and over-eating, though many overweight people I know drink diet everything. I think some people think it gives them license to eat more, as with the reduced-fat food craze. My Eastern/Western medical doctor, as well as my acupuncturist, advocate avoiding just about all sweeteners, which I do. When I want to use unsweetened cocoa...+READ

    I'm not sure about the direct connection between having diet sodas and over-eating, though many overweight people I know drink diet everything. I think some people think it gives them license to eat more, as with the reduced-fat food craze. My Eastern/Western medical doctor, as well as my acupuncturist, advocate avoiding just about all sweeteners, which I do. When I want to use unsweetened cocoa or chocolate, I do indulge in a squirt or two of agave, which has a lower GI impact than other sweeteners. I never had much of a sweet tooth to begin with, so it hasn't been hard to retrain my palate. Different people's bodies react so differently to the same foods. In my 40s, I discovered I had numerous food sensitivities. The body moves in mysterious ways....-COLLAPSE

  • I have read much on this. My opinion is that when sweet hits the tastebuds your body tells your pancreas to make insulin. excessive insulin tells the body to store fat. worse if there is not enough sugar in your system (like when you get sugar free stuff)your body goes into a minor minor insuline shock. Over long periods (again my opinion) your body will slowly reduce its reaction to insulin....+READ

    I have read much on this. My opinion is that when sweet hits the tastebuds your body tells your pancreas to make insulin. excessive insulin tells the body to store fat. worse if there is not enough sugar in your system (like when you get sugar free stuff)your body goes into a minor minor insuline shock. Over long periods (again my opinion) your body will slowly reduce its reaction to insulin. Bottom line it is better to drink water. I wish I could stop the softdrink rollercoster.-COLLAPSE

  • Some 20+ million diabetics in North America (many of whom are not overweight) would probably disagree with you.

  • I have a diet soda daily and I'm neither overweight nor dehydrated. It's just nonsense that a soda can cause you to overeat. No one wants to accept personal responsibility for their own actions. Piling food in your mouth is a choice - the soda didn't make you do it.

    I think sirregular is a closet Cheetos lover. ;-)

  • Sirregular, if you're kidding, you're hilarious, if not, well, go to hell. ;-)

  • Recent study suggests that people who drink pop every day, regardless of whether it is diet or regular, are heavier than people who don't drink pop. I would believe that. Pop of any kind makes you hungry and thirsty as your body has to work to get the extra fluid and/or sugar out of your system--the diuretic effect makes you want to drink more. You would find it hard to drink a full 2 liter...+READ

    Recent study suggests that people who drink pop every day, regardless of whether it is diet or regular, are heavier than people who don't drink pop. I would believe that. Pop of any kind makes you hungry and thirsty as your body has to work to get the extra fluid and/or sugar out of your system--the diuretic effect makes you want to drink more. You would find it hard to drink a full 2 liter bottle of water in the course of a sedentary afternoon, but it's easy to do with pop.-COLLAPSE

  • Honestly, my palate is much too refined to enjoy something as pedestrian as sweetened carbonated water. I would never let something so vile touch my lips. Those who say they only enjoy such a substance as a treat (they're lying you know, swilling this putrid liquid as they type) are simple plebeians in our rank and file hierarchical Epicurean society.

    Those of you at the upper echelon like...+READ

    Honestly, my palate is much too refined to enjoy something as pedestrian as sweetened carbonated water. I would never let something so vile touch my lips. Those who say they only enjoy such a substance as a treat (they're lying you know, swilling this putrid liquid as they type) are simple plebeians in our rank and file hierarchical Epicurean society.

    Those of you at the upper echelon like myself and Ms. Slaton have a civic duty to shame those who "enjoy" something I can't go so far as to call a flavor!

    As a restaurant owner, I go a step further, a step all restaurant owners should take, by refusing to serve obese diners. If they'd like to kill themselves, that's none of my business, but I certainly won't allow my services to aid them in the process.-COLLAPSE

  • If I buy cans of coke, I'll end up drinking 4-6 of them a day sometimes.

    So I stopped buying it about a year ago, and all I drink now is water and milk really. Not even juice so much. Now if a carbonated beverage comes around it feels like an extra treat, even though I eat whatever I want otherwise.

    For me, it just felt like the best way to have the biggest impact without feeling like I'm...+READ

    If I buy cans of coke, I'll end up drinking 4-6 of them a day sometimes.

    So I stopped buying it about a year ago, and all I drink now is water and milk really. Not even juice so much. Now if a carbonated beverage comes around it feels like an extra treat, even though I eat whatever I want otherwise.

    For me, it just felt like the best way to have the biggest impact without feeling like I'm missing out on something. I bet I cut out 5-10 lbs of sugar easy out of my diet every year..-COLLAPSE

  • Yeah, I view soda as a treat rather than a drink.

    Regarding that sweet/less sweet thing, I've only just noticed this myself! I ate a chocolate mint before my sweetened tea, and it tasted like there was no sugar in the tea!

    I've never conciously experienced this before then!

  • I stopped drinking soft drinks a long time ago (lost my taste for it; it's water or coffee now for me), but I agree with kellysnoms: when I did drink soda, I found the regular to be too cloying. It was less a matter of simple taste than of the drink's body. The nonsugared sodas were more refreshing.

  • I've been fat and not fat in my life and I still drink diet soda. It has nothing to do with my weight, it's my teeth I am looking out for.

  • coke Zero is the only way to go - best of both worlds

  • I actually prefer diet drinks... "regular" soda is much too sweet for me, and as a previous commenter has noted, regular soda actually makes me thirstier. If you're worried about calories and you hate diet soda, why not just stick to water?

  • Drink water

  • Drink Diet Coke because you like the taste. Simple way to go about things.

    In actuality, the Diet Coke with Splenda, to me, is the best tasting one of the lot.

  • Diet soda is invaluable for people with a propensity toward being overweight/obese.Those that really need to count calories.

  • Yeah, nothing like letting the press scare you away from your preferences.

    Early on I decided that nondiet sodas gave me bad breath and actually made me thirstier. This was back in the day, way before the ad people had gotten so clever. I have several coworkers that drink diet sodas because their jobs are sedentary and they don't want the calories. I drink unsweetened iced tea, but they do...+READ

    Yeah, nothing like letting the press scare you away from your preferences.

    Early on I decided that nondiet sodas gave me bad breath and actually made me thirstier. This was back in the day, way before the ad people had gotten so clever. I have several coworkers that drink diet sodas because their jobs are sedentary and they don't want the calories. I drink unsweetened iced tea, but they do have a collective sweet tooth, I'm more the freak there. Plus i work in IT and it's part of the culture to drink sodas, apparently. Caffeine and all.
    In other words, don't believe everything you hear/read.-COLLAPSE

  • I don't care even care because I don't like regular cola. I LIKE Diet Coke.

  • people that blame diet soda for being fat are idiots with no self control.

  • I've been drinking on average of a 6-pack a day for years and years (diet Coke was intro'd to the market when I was 12). I'm 40, 5'5", and my weight varies between 115-125 (I'm also a food writer, so I tend to yoyo a bit). They could've skipped the rat-testing and just, you know, asked some people.