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Contrary to popular belief, scientists in the United States now think that consuming low-calorie drinks may actually increase the risk of putting on weight. They have discovered that people who regularly consume diet drinks may, due to the fact that the drinks themselves contain negligible calories, over compensate in other areas of their calorific intake.

They found that rats fed on yoghurt sweetened with saccharine ate more calories, gained more weight and put on more body fat than rats that were given yoghurt sweetened with glucose.

The scientists who conducted the report in Behavioural Neuroscience, Susan Swithers and Terry Davidson, concluded that “The data clearly indicate that consuming a food sweetened with no-calorie saccharine can lead to greater body-weight gain and adiposity than would consuming the same food sweetened with a higher-calorie sugar.”

They also say in the report that their findings match emerging evidence that people who drink more diet drinks are at higher risk of obesity and metabolic syndrome, a collection of medical problems such as abdominal fat, high blood pressure and insulin resistance that put people at greater risk of heart disease and diabetes.

The researchers say that, normally, sweet foods stimulate the brain into thinking that a lot of calories are about to be ingested and that the digestive system steps up a gear ready for that intake. When, however, ‘false’ sweetness is not followed by lots of calories, the system gets confused actually making the body burn calories that need to be replaced. If the scientists are correct, then artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, sucralose and acesulfame K, which taste sweet but do not provide calories, could have similar effects.

The report suggests that people who chose low-calorie drinks tend to consume more calories. People who know they are ‘banking some goodness’ by taking, say diet drinks, are inclined to overindulge.