Diet Drinks Work as Well as Water for Weight Loss, Major Trial Finds
The SWITCH trial followed 493 adults and found diet beverages matched water for weight loss and maintenance over 104 weeks.
- The SWITCH trial, a 104-week study, found that non-nutritive sweetened beverages are equivalent to water for long-term weight management, with participants achieving sustained weight reduction over two years.
- Led by Professor Joanne Harrold of the University of Liverpool and Professor Jason Halford of the University of Leeds, the research followed 493 adults with obesity and was funded by the American Beverage Association.
- Average weight loss reached 4.8 kilograms for the diet beverage group and 3.7 kilograms for the water group, with both groups showing improvements in body composition.
- These findings directly address World Health Organization guidance, as overall, results do not support concerns that diet beverages disrupt appetite regulation or cause metabolic harm.
- Importantly, the study does not establish that diet beverages are necessary or healthier than water, though the research team maintained full control over the analysis and reporting.
15 Articles
15 Articles
Westfalenpost
Do zero and light drinks actually help you lose weight? A long-term study now provides exciting data on sweetener consumption.
Diet drinks work as well as water for weight loss, major trial finds
A two-year randomized clinical trial involving 493 adults with overweight or obesity found that diet soft drinks were essentially as effective as water for long-term weight loss and weight maintenance. Participants drinking beverages sweetened with aspartame, acesulfame-K, or sucralose lost a similar amount of weight to those drinking water, while both groups also saw improvements in waist size, body composition, and several metabolic measures.
Liverpool Study Examines Long-Term Health Effects of Non-Nutritive Sweetened Soft Drinks
Diet beverages containing non-nutritive sweeteners may be comparable to water for long-term weight management, according to a 104-week randomised controlled trial published in the British Journal of...
Studies have shown that drinking sugar-free drinks while dieting is as effective for weight loss as drinking water. There were doubts that artificial sweeteners stimulate appetite and hinder diet, but actual clinical trials showed that the weight loss effect was virtually the same as that of the group that drank water. In this study published in the international journal “British Journal of Nutrition,” the researchers divided 493 overweight and …
A two-year clinical trial examined whether soft drinks with non-nutritive sweeteners can contribute to weight management as well as water.
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