Diet soda is a sugar-free or zero-calorie carbonated soft drink. Diet soda is often sweetened with artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, sucralose, or stevia.
The first diet soda was introduced in the United States in 1952 by Kirsch Company under the brand name “No-Cal Ginger Ale”. In 1963, Royal Crown Cola became the first major company to release a diet cola called “Diet Rite”. Diet sodas have become increasingly popular since then with sales increasing exponentially each year. In 2010, diet sodas made up for 30% of the carbonated soft drink market in the US.
There are many health concerns associated with diet soda consumption including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and tooth decay. Some studies have shown that diet soda can actually lead to weight gain rather than weight loss because of the artificial sweeteners it contains. Aspartame, for example, has been shown to increase appetite and cravings for sweets.
A recent study published in the journal Obesity found that people who drank one or more cans of diet soda a day were 65% more likely to become overweight than those who didn’t drink any diet soda at all. The study also found that diet soda drinkers had a 50% greater chance of developing metabolic syndrome (a group of risk factors that increase your chance of developing heart disease and diabetes).
Another study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that people who drank two or more cups of sugary drinks per day (including both regular and diet sodas) were 26% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who didn’t drink any sugary drinks at all. And yet another study found that people who drank two or more cans of cola per day (regardless of whether it was regular or diet) had a 31% higher risk of having a stroke compared to those who didn’t drink any cola at all.