Diet Beverages Match Water in Two-Year Weight-Loss Study

A 104-week UK trial assigned 493 adults with overweight or mild obesity to drink either water or non-nutritive sweetened beverages while following a behavioral weight-management program. At two years, both groups had lost weight, and the difference between them was not statistically significant. The researchers concluded that the results do not support concerns that diet drinks disrupt appetite or promote weight gain.

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The UK SWITCH trial recruited 493 adults around Liverpool with BMI 27–35. They were randomly assigned to at least two daily 330-ml servings of water or non-nutritive sweetened drinks, including diet colas, soft drinks, fruit drinks, and flavored waters. All joined a weight-management program: weekly groups for 12 weeks, monthly sessions for 40 weeks, then optional monitoring for