Diet coke, propel, gatorade etc. We love this stuff, right? Many folks gravitate towards these because as important as water is for general health, we just don't care for the taste of it. So we enjoy the taste of the above instead. But, if you were ever curious about the effects of flavored drinks vs water, we have been blessed with a randomized control trial with some very interesting findings. Let's dive in!

 Researchers compared the effects of drinking diet drinks (NNS) versus water on weight loss and maintenance over 52 weeks. Participants were adults with a BMI between 27–35 who already drank cold beverages regularly. Everyone took part in a structured weight loss program with group meetings.

• 493 people joined the study.
• Half drank only water; half drank NNS beverages (like diet sodas).
• First 12 weeks focused on losing weight, followed by 40 weeks of maintenance.

• At the end of the year, both groups lost weight.
• The NNS group lost slightly more (7.5 kg vs. 6.1 kg).
• Statistically, this was a significant difference.
• Clinically, the difference wasn’t big enough to be considered important for health outcomes.

Drinking diet drinks helped people lose a bit more weight than water during a year-long weight program, but not enough to matter significantly in real-world terms.

Your friend in fitness,

Alexander

Care to read the full study? Check it out here!