The effects of water and non-nutritive sweetened beverages on weight loss and weight maintenance: A randomized clinical trial.
Level 2 - randomized trial
Individual randomized controlled trial with 1-year follow-up
PubMed 26708700 · doi:10.1002/oby.21327
What was done
A 1-year randomized equivalence trial evaluated the effects of consuming 24 ounces (710 ml) daily of either water or non-nutritive sweetened (NNS) beverages in 303 weight-stable adults with overweight and obesity. All participants took part in a concurrent behavioral weight loss program. The study population consisted of individuals who were regular consumers of NNS beverages at baseline.
What was found
Water and NNS beverages were non-equivalent. At 1 year, participants assigned to water maintained a weight loss of 2.45 ± 5.59 kg, whereas participants assigned to NNS beverages maintained a weight loss of 6.21 ± 7.65 kg (P < 0.001 for between-group difference).
Why it matters
This trial shows that replacing diet drinks with water is not required for weight loss and that maintaining NNS beverage consumption can lead to superior 1-year weight reduction within a structured behavioral intervention.
Limits
The trial enrolled only habitual consumers of NNS beverages, so results cannot be generalized to non-consumers. The abstract does not detail blinding procedures, attrition rates, specific non-nutritive sweetener types, or dietary adherence.
Cited by
- context In a year-long randomized controlled trial, participants lost approximately 7.5 kg by substituting diet soda for regular soda.
- supports Randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses comparing substituting regular soda with water versus diet soda found that diet soda resulted in greater weight loss than water.