Soft Drinks and Obesity Risk - Percentage

From StatWiki

The University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio ran an eight-year study to study the effects of soft drink use. Sharon P. Fowler, MPH, who ran the study, had this shocking statement to say, "What didn't surprise us was that total soft drink use was linked to overweight and obesity. What was surprising was when we looked at people only drinking diet soft drinks, their risk of obesity was even higher."

Of the 622 participants, all of normal weight at the beginning of the study, about a third became overweight or obese.

For the regular soft drink drinkers, the risk of becoming overweight or obese was:

26% for up to 1/2 can each day 30.4% for 1/2-1 can each day 32.8% for 1-2 cans each day 47.2% for more than 2 cans each day

For the diet soft-drink drinkers, the risk of becoming overweight was higher:

36% for up to 1/2 can per day 37.5% for 1/2-1 can each day 54.5% for 1-2 cans per day 57.1% for more than 2 cans each day

For each can of diet soda consumed, a person's risk of obesity went to 41%!

Fowler says, "If you offer your body something that tastes like a lot of calories, but it isn't there, your body is alerted to the possibility that there is something there and it will search for the calories promised but not delivered.

"People think they can just fool the body. But maybe the body isn't fooled. If you are not giving your body those calories you promised it, maybe your body will retaliate by wanting more calories. Come soft drink studies also suggest that diet drinks stimulate appetite."

[edit] Source

Leanne Ely Quoted from study by The University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, Texas; Sharon P. Fowler, MPH