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Sugar-free soft drinks may be just as effective as plain water for weight loss, according to researchers at the University of Liverpool in the UK. Their conclusion is based on a two-year randomized trial involving nearly 500 people who were overweight or living with obesity.

The study included 493 participants aged 18 to 65 with a body mass index (BMI) ranging from 27 to 35. One group was given approximately 660 milliliters of water daily, while the other consumed the same amount of beverages containing non-caloric sweeteners. The trial lasted 104 weeks.

Participants in the second group could choose from a range of sugar-free sodas, low-calorie fruit drinks and flavored waters. The sweeteners used included aspartame, acesulfame potassium and sucralose.

After two years, participants who consumed drinks containing sugar substitutes had lost an average of 4.8 kilograms (10.6 pounds). Those in the water group lost approximately 8.7 kilograms (19.2 pounds).

However, the researchers emphasized that participants in both groups managed to maintain a substantial portion of their weight loss even during the final year, when regular weight-management support was no longer provided.

Participants in both groups also reduced their waist and hip measurements and their body fat percentage. No significant differences between the groups were found in these measures. Total cholesterol levels remained within the normal range.

The findings were published in the British Journal of Nutrition.

It’s Not About a Magic Effect of Sweeteners

New York-based dietitian Alix Turoff, who was not involved in the study, cautioned against concluding that diet drinks themselves were responsible for the weight loss.

“The study does not prove that beverages containing sugar substitutes were, by themselves, the cause of weight loss,” she told Fox News Digital.

According to Turoff, all participants followed a structured weight-management program that included nutritional counseling, behavioral support and physical activity recommendations.

The main benefit of sugar-free drinks, she noted, is that they can replace higher-calorie alternatives, rather than having any special effect on metabolism.

The study is notable because researchers compared diet beverages directly with water, rather than with regular sugary soda. Their aim was to determine whether non-caloric sweeteners interfere with weight loss.

“If someone typically drinks regular soda containing 250 calories and switches to a sugar-free version, they reduce their calorie intake,” the dietitian explained.

However, the findings do not mean that water and diet soda are nutritionally equivalent.

Turoff also noted that by the end of the study, researchers had found no significant differences between the groups in hunger levels or sugar consumption. This is important given concerns that artificial sweeteners may increase appetite or trigger compensatory overeating.

“I still recommend choosing water as the primary beverage for hydration. But, in my view, people do not need to fear diet drinks or assume that they automatically interfere with fat loss or cause weight gain,” the specialist emphasized.

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