People who drink diet soda amass almost triple the amount of belly fat as those who don't drink it, according to a new study.
The study, published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, analyzed, over the course of a period of nine years, data from 749 people ages 65 and older who were asked, every couple of years, how many cans of soda they drank a day, and how many of those sodas were diet or regular.
People who didn't drink diet soda gained about 0.8 inches around their waists over the study period, but people who drank diet soda daily gained 3.2 inches. Those who fell in the middle — occasional drinkers of diet soda — gained about 1.8 inches.
Study author called the results "striking."
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Health News
May 22, 2026 14:46 ET Minutes of the latest Fed policy session was the highlight of the week along with survey data on the U.S. housing market. In Europe, survey data signaled the trends in the euro area private sector. Further, consumer price inflation data from the U.K. was in focus. In Asia, various economic indicators from China drew attention to the health of the economy.