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Sugar free drinks make you gain weight
bigfreddiel
Posts: 4,263 Forumite
From the Telegraph
Just as I've been saying in my posts.
Cheers fj
Sugar-free and diet drinks are not helpful for weight loss and could even cause people to pile on the pounds, researchers at Imperial College have claimed.
A review of dozens of studies dating back 30 years found that there is no solid evidence that sugar-free alternatives prevent weight gain, type 2 diabetes or help maintain a healthy Body Mass Index. (BMI)
Although artificially-sweetened beverages contain fewer calories than sugary versions, researchers say they still trigger sweet receptors in the brain, which may make people crave food. Coupled with the fact that most people view diet drinks as healthier, it could lead to over-consumption, the researchers argue.
“A common perception, which may be influenced by industry marketing, is that because ‘diet’ drinks have no sugar, they must be healthier and aid weight loss when used as a substitute for full sugar versions,” said Professor Christopher Millett, senior investigator from Imperial’s School of Public Health.
“However we found no solid evidence to support this. Far from helping to solve the global obesity crisis, artificially-sweetened beverages may be contributing to the problem and should not be promoted as part of a healthy diet.”
The authors claim that previous studies which found diet drinks were helpful should be discounted because they were funded by the drinks industry.
However the British Soft Drinks Association said that it was wrong to target sugar-free drinks, because they helped people maintain a low calorie diet.
Gavin Partington, BSDA Director General, said: “At a time when we are trying to encourage people to reduce their overall calorie intake it is extremely unhelpful that products which contain no sugar, let alone calories, are demonised without evidence.
“It’s worth bearing in mind that the UK soft drinks sector is the only category in which sugar intake is consistently falling year on year – over 17 per cent since 2012.”
Professor Susan Jebb, the government’s advisor on obesity, said that sugar was a major risk factor for obesity, type 2 diabetes and tooth decay and said switching to artificially sweetened drinks was ‘a step in the right direction.’
“For people seeking to manage their weight tap water is without question the best drink to choose, for health and the environment, but for many people who are used to drinking sugary drinks this will be too hard a change to make,” said Prof Jebb, Professor of Diet and Population Health at the University of Oxford.
“ Artificially sweetened drinks are a step in the right direction to cut calories.”
Prof Tom Sanders, Professor emeritus of Nutrition and Dietetics, at!King’s College London, added: “The conclusion that reduced sugar or sugar free drinks should not be promoted or seen as part of a healthy diet seems unwarranted and likely to add to public confusion.”
Dr Alison Tedstone, chief nutritionist at Public Health England, said swapping to low or no sugar drinks "goes some way to managing calorie intake and weight", especially for young people.
"However, maintaining a healthy weight takes more than just swapping one product for another," she added. "Calories consumed should match calories used, so looking at the whole diet is very important."
The review was published in the journal PLOS One.!
For more of our quality journalism, add the Telegraph to your favourites
Go to The Telegraph Channel
Just as I've been saying in my posts.
Cheers fj
Sugar-free and diet drinks are not helpful for weight loss and could even cause people to pile on the pounds, researchers at Imperial College have claimed.
A review of dozens of studies dating back 30 years found that there is no solid evidence that sugar-free alternatives prevent weight gain, type 2 diabetes or help maintain a healthy Body Mass Index. (BMI)
Although artificially-sweetened beverages contain fewer calories than sugary versions, researchers say they still trigger sweet receptors in the brain, which may make people crave food. Coupled with the fact that most people view diet drinks as healthier, it could lead to over-consumption, the researchers argue.
“A common perception, which may be influenced by industry marketing, is that because ‘diet’ drinks have no sugar, they must be healthier and aid weight loss when used as a substitute for full sugar versions,” said Professor Christopher Millett, senior investigator from Imperial’s School of Public Health.
“However we found no solid evidence to support this. Far from helping to solve the global obesity crisis, artificially-sweetened beverages may be contributing to the problem and should not be promoted as part of a healthy diet.”
The authors claim that previous studies which found diet drinks were helpful should be discounted because they were funded by the drinks industry.
However the British Soft Drinks Association said that it was wrong to target sugar-free drinks, because they helped people maintain a low calorie diet.
Gavin Partington, BSDA Director General, said: “At a time when we are trying to encourage people to reduce their overall calorie intake it is extremely unhelpful that products which contain no sugar, let alone calories, are demonised without evidence.
“It’s worth bearing in mind that the UK soft drinks sector is the only category in which sugar intake is consistently falling year on year – over 17 per cent since 2012.”
Professor Susan Jebb, the government’s advisor on obesity, said that sugar was a major risk factor for obesity, type 2 diabetes and tooth decay and said switching to artificially sweetened drinks was ‘a step in the right direction.’
“For people seeking to manage their weight tap water is without question the best drink to choose, for health and the environment, but for many people who are used to drinking sugary drinks this will be too hard a change to make,” said Prof Jebb, Professor of Diet and Population Health at the University of Oxford.
“ Artificially sweetened drinks are a step in the right direction to cut calories.”
Prof Tom Sanders, Professor emeritus of Nutrition and Dietetics, at!King’s College London, added: “The conclusion that reduced sugar or sugar free drinks should not be promoted or seen as part of a healthy diet seems unwarranted and likely to add to public confusion.”
Dr Alison Tedstone, chief nutritionist at Public Health England, said swapping to low or no sugar drinks "goes some way to managing calorie intake and weight", especially for young people.
"However, maintaining a healthy weight takes more than just swapping one product for another," she added. "Calories consumed should match calories used, so looking at the whole diet is very important."
The review was published in the journal PLOS One.!
For more of our quality journalism, add the Telegraph to your favourites
Go to The Telegraph Channel
0
Comments
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There will always be people who think low calorie means they can eat more of a product as they have spare calories to use up.
However, they do help people who need to reduce sugar intake, have sensible dieting, but like a glass of 'pop'.
Of course, they won't prevent diabetes, but they are an option for people with diabetes, who already have a limit on their food choices. (I'm going through a phase of liking very little of what is good for me.)0 -
There will always be people who think low calorie means they can eat more of a product as they have spare calories to use up.
However, they do help people who need to reduce sugar intake, have sensible dieting, but like a glass of 'pop'.
Of course, they won't prevent diabetes, but they are an option for people with diabetes, who already have a limit on their food choices. (I'm going through a phase of liking very little of what is good for me.)
There's no hope for these people who don't understand the basics is there.?0 -
Over time I guess all of it added together will make some changes but it is important to have sugar at times and still maintain a healthy diet.0
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bigfreddiel wrote: »There's no hope for these people who don't understand the basics is there.?
The article says there's no strong evidence about sweeteners making people gain wait, but just gives a few examples of why people may put on weight (like treating themselves to a cookie as there's no calories in the drink).
The truth is we don't know if sweeteners in diet drinks causes weight gain, it's possible yes, but not proven to be true or false.
In my opinion if you drink a lot of diet drinks the sweeteners could have a negative effect, but the occasional diet drink (everything in moderation) would be fine.0 -
I know on Slimming World they say you can have as much diet versions as you want. I rarely drink anything fizzy and a big bottle of diet lemonade tends to lose its fizz before I finish it!
I know some people though who only drink fizzy stuff and rarely ever just water or water and squash so for those people diet drinks probably benefit them. For me if I took it to mean I could have more fizzy stuff than I usually would, it would make it worse.0 -
The article says there's no strong evidence about sweeteners making people gain wait, but just gives a few examples of why people may put on weight (like treating themselves to a cookie as there's no calories in the drink).
The truth is we don't know if sweeteners in diet drinks causes weight gain, it's possible yes, but not proven to be true or false.
In my opinion if you drink a lot of diet drinks the sweeteners could have a negative effect, but the occasional diet drink (everything in moderation) would be fine.
There's no hope for these people who can't read and understand an article is there
Accept your past without regret, handle your present with confidence and face your future without fear0 -
As far as I can see, diet drinks have no nutritional value whatsoever, calories or no calories.
Personally can't understand why anyone would eat/drink anything that wasn't actually good for them. Odd, I know.No longer a spouse, or trailing, but MSE won't allow me to change my username...0 -
WibblyGirly wrote: »I know on Slimming World they say you can have as much diet versions as you want. I rarely drink anything fizzy and a big bottle of diet lemonade tends to lose its fizz before I finish it!
I know some people though who only drink fizzy stuff and rarely ever just water or water and squash so for those people diet drinks probably benefit them. For me if I took it to mean I could have more fizzy stuff than I usually would, it would make it worse.
I am doing slimming world and changed my normal coke to coke zero. For months now I have found on the weeks I drink coke zero I never lose as much as when I just drink water. I even tried to research why as I am so convinced the coke is responsible! I don't feel I eat anymore when I drink coke but maybe I do without realising...I also wondered if it causes water retention or something? Weird.0 -
trailingspouse wrote: »As far as I can see, diet drinks have no nutritional value whatsoever, calories or no calories.
Personally can't understand why anyone would eat/drink anything that wasn't actually good for them. Odd, I know.
Maybe they are thirsty and a Diet Pepsi hits the spot.0 -
I have two glasses of caffeine free diet coke every day. My BMI is 23 and has been for many years now. I don't have any particular cravings.
Sugar free drinks are not the problem here, it's people not knowing how to maintain a healthy balanced diet.0
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