Fizzy drinks in your diet could be making you fatter

Regular consumption of fizzy drinks is adding inches to a person’s waistline, studies suggest, with many people consuming low-calorie versions in the assumption that they are not that bad for our health.
Over the course of nine years, researchers from the University of Texas found that people who consumed a minimum of one fizzy drink every day ended up gaining at least three inches to their waistline.
Participants who said that they did not consume any diet fizzy drinks experienced a waistline increase of less than one inch over the nine years, whilst for those who had fizzy drinks occasionally (less than one per day), their waistlines increased by approximately two inches.
The scientists surveyed 749 European-Americans and Mexican-Americans, and at the end of the nine-year study, 466 were still alive. The number of fizzy drinks consumed by each participant was monitored, as well as whether the drink was a diet version. Many ‘diet’ versions of drinks contain artificial sweeteners rather than sugar, but the results suggest that they are still harmful.
Having a larger waistline is commonly linked to the development of type 2 diabetes, stroke, heart disease and also some forms of cancer. It is therefore very important to exercise regularly and eat a balanced diet in order to live a healthy lifestyle. Decreasing your consumption of fizzy drinks, sugar and processed food, whilst eating fresh fruit and vegetables, is a good way to start.
“Because the study measured waist circumference as well as total weight, we were able to look at what happened to participants’ abdominal obesity. The increases in abdominal fat were more than three times as great in daily diet soda users as in non-users.” said the study’s author, Dr Fowler.
She added: “This is during the time in life when increasing waist circumference is associated with increased risk of these serious medical conditions, and mortality itself.”