The Diet Soda Weight Gain Controversy
The issue of diet soda weight gain has currently been making waves in the internet world and is bugging the minds of weight watchers and scientists alike.
The Experiment
It was discovered in the experiment that the brain of rodents depends on the connection between taste and calorie intake to control its consumption.
In the experiment, Davidson and Swithers gave one group of rodents some sugar sweetened soda-like liquid to consume.
Another group of rats were alternately fed with the sugar sweetened soda-like liquid and liquid mixed with artificial sweeteners, basically regular and diet cola.
Sugar substitutes or artificial sweeteners like saccharin confuse the brain and makes it difficult to determine the calorie intake.
When the body is unfamiliar of the calorie content, it tends to consume more or overeat. This, according to the researchers, leads to obesity and proves that the diet soda weight gain is true.
No Clear Answer
Somewhat contradicting the findings of the Purdue study, obesity expert Barry Popkin stresses that there is no clear answer to the diet soda weight gain controversy.Popkin, a professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hills, has championed the cause against obesity for the past 25 years.
He has been an active advocate against the selling of carbonated drinks in schools. He emphasizes that carbonated refreshments are a major reason for the boom in obesity among children in the United States.
According to him, both sugar-sweetened soft drinks and diet sodas with artificial sweeteners may cause one to gain weight.
There is no clear proof however, that the artificial sweeteners in the diet soda are indeed the causes of weight gain.
The only conclusion he can give for this diet soda weight gain debate is that there is no sufficient studies done on the matter to prove anything.
Therefore, people should not be too concerned with whether the drink their holding is a regular cola or a diet cola.
What they should do is to not consume any carbonated drink at all as they have been proven to contribute to obesity.
Summary
The diet soda weight gain controversy will not be laid to rest until a better and more detailed study has been done.