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Study: Diet soda linked to heart risks

(AP)
Updated: 2007-07-24 09:44

BOSTON - People who drank more than one diet soda each day developed the
same risks for heart disease as those who downed sugary regular soda, a
large but inconclusive study found.

The results surprised the researchers who expected to see a difference
between regular and diet soda drinkers. It could be, they suggest, that
even no-calorie sweet drinks increase the craving for more sweets, and
that people who indulge in sodas probably have less healthy diets overall.

The study's senior author, Dr. Vasan Ramachandran, emphasized the
findings don't show diet sodas are a cause of increased heart disease
risks. But he said they show a surprising link that must be studied.

"It's intriguing and it begs an explanation by people who are qualified
to do studies to understand this better," said Vasan, of Boston
University School of Medicine.

However, a nutrition expert dismissed the study's findings on diet soda
drinkers.

"There's too much contradictory evidence that shows that diet beverages
are healthier for you in terms of losing weight that I would not put any
credence to the result on the diet (drinks)," said Barry Popkin, of the
University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, who has called for
cigarette-style surgeon general warnings about the negative health
effects of soda.

Susan Neely, president of the American Beverage Association, said the
notion that diet drinks are associated with bulging waistlines defies
common sense.

"How can something with zero calories that's 99 percent water with a
little flavoring in it ... cause weight gain?" she said.

The research comes from a massive, multi-generational heart study
following residents of Framingham, Mass., a town about 25 miles west of
Boston. The new study of 9,000 observations of middle-aged men and women
was published Monday online in the journal Circulation.

The researchers found those who drank more than one soda per day - diet
or regular - had an increased risk of metabolic syndrome, compared to
those who drank less than one soda. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of
symptoms that increase the risk for heart disease including large
waistlines and higher levels of blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol
and blood fats called triglycerides.

At the start of the study, those who reported drinking more than one soft
drink a day had a 48 percent increased prevalence of metabolic syndrome
compared to those who drank less soda.

Of participants who initially showed no signs of metabolic syndrome,
those who drank more than one soda per day were at 44 percent higher risk
of developing it four years later, they reported.

Researchers expected the results to differ when regular soda and diet
soda drinkers were compared, and were surprised when they did not, Vasan
said.

But Popkin said that result isn't that surprising. He said much of the
market for diet sodas are people who have unhealthy lifestyles and know
they need to lose weight - with the other portion being thin people who
want to stay that way. That means many people drinking diet sodas have
unhealthy habits that could lead to increased heart disease risks,
whether they drink diet soda or not.

In studies in which some users were randomly given diet sodas and others
were given regular soda, diet soda drinkers lost weight and regular soda
drinkers gained weight, Popkin said.

In a statement, the American Heart Association said it supports dietary
patterns that include low-calorie beverages.

"Diet soda can be a good option to replace caloric beverages that do not
contain important vitamins and minerals," the association said, adding
further study is needed before any association between diet soda and
heart risk factors would lead to public recommendations.

Vasan also said poor overall health habits may be one reason diet soda
drinkers did not show lower heart disease risks in the Framingham study,
but there hasn't been enough research to say for sure.

Another possible reason is a controversial theory called "dietary
compensation," which holds that if someone drinks a large amount of
liquids at a meal, they aren't satisfied and will tend to eat more at the
next meal, Vasan said.

Other theories, Vasan said, are that people who drink a large amount of
sweetened drinks are prone to develop a taste for sweeter foods, or that
the substance that gives soda its caramel color promotes resistance to
insulin, which is needed to process calories.

Without a more definitive explanation, Vasan offers only this advice to
diet soda drinkers: "Consume in moderation and stayed tuned for more
research."

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