No-calorie sweeteners might affect people's diet choices, according to a new research.
The study published in the journal 'Appetite' recruited 116 participants aged between 18 and 25. They were randomly assigned an unmarked cup filled with either a non-caloric sweetened beverage (a diet soda), a sugar sweetened beverage (regular soda) or non-sweetened beverage (sparkling water). Researchers then measured their cognition, snack choices and responses to sugary food.
For the first experiment, those in the diet soda group quickly identified the names of high-calorie foods compared to those who had a non-sweetened or sugar-sweetened beverage. "There was no difference among the groups in identifying the words of low-calorie foods like 'apple' or 'carrot'," study author Sarah Hill, associate professor of psychology at TCU said in a press release. "It seems that drinking a non-caloric drink may prime you to choose unhealthy food items. Those foods are on your mind."
And for the second experiment, researchers gave the participants the choice to take home a bag of chocolate candy, a pack of sugar-free gum or a bottle of spring water. People who were diet soda drinkers chose the high-calorie candy.
Researchers then gave cookies to the participants to eat and found that consumption of a diet drink did not change how many cookies they ate. However, those who had the diet drink reported feeling less satisfied after eating.
Hill explained that people just did not compensate for the calories consumed in a beverage, even if they did consciously think about it. She said that a less deliberate part of their mind might not really register those calories.
"The totality of these studies suggests that drinking artificially sweetened beverages can have unintended consequences and, over time, may influence choices that can affect weight loss goals," Hill said.
