A new study has revealed that no-calorie sweeteners may interfere with people's diet choices.
For the study, researchers conducted three experiments in which 116 participants ages 18 to 25 were randomly given an unmarked cup filled with either a non-caloric sweetened beverage (a diet soda), a sugar sweetened beverage (regular soda) or non-sweetened beverage (sparkling water). Researchers then measured their cognition, snack choices and responses to sugary food.
Sarah Hill, associate professor of psychology at Texas Christian University (TCU), said that people just don't seem to compensate for the calories consumed in a beverage, even if they consciously think about it, a less deliberate part of their mind might not really register those calories.
She further added that the totality of these studies suggested that drinking artificially sweetened beverages can have unintended consequences and, over time, might influence choices that can affect weight loss goals.
The study is published in the journal Appetite.