Diet soda increases weight

 The results of a recent study showed that eating "diet soda" instead of the regular one, may increase calorie consumption and thus gain weight, especially for a certain group of people more than others. Here are more details.

When following a diet with the aim of losing weight, many people resort to replacing foods and drinks with what is intended for the diet and is believed to be calorie-free, as it includes artificial sweeteners, such as diet soda, which is marketed as sugar- or calorie-free and helps in Weight loss. But is it really so?

A recent study revealed a link between diet soft drinks and calorie intake. The study was led by a group of researchers studying neurosciences, obesity and medicine at the University of Southern California in the US with 74 healthy participants aged between 18 and 35, all of whom were at stable weights, and had no history of eating disorders or diabetes.

The goal was to examine the neural interaction of different types of high-calorie food cues, metabolic responses, and eating behavior, after some participants ate sucralose (an artificial sweetener), others drank a sugary drink and another group drank only water, the researchers reported.

Next, the participants' responses were analyzed using functional magnetic resonance imaging of the brain and blood samples to measure blood sugar, metabolic hormones, and food intake. According to the University of Southern California website.

feeling hungry

According to researcher Kathleen Page, a physician specializing in obesity at the University of Southern California, the experiment showed increased activity in the areas of the brain responsible for food cravings and appetite in both women and people who suffer from obesity after drinking drinks containing sucralose, compared to Drinks that contain real sugar. According to what was published by the American website It This Net.

For these groups, drinking artificially sweetened beverages might trick the brain into feeling hungry, which could in turn cause them to consume more calories, while men and those of a healthy weight did not have an increased response to hunger and were not affected by artificial sweetener intake in the same way.