Denise Mann, “Can You Get Hooked on Diet Soda?,” Health.com, February 25, 2011

“Diet soda isn’t as addictive as drugs like nicotine, but something about it
seems to make some people psychologically—and even physically—dependent
on it,” opens this Health.com article on individuals who drink more than
the average amount of diet soda per day. According to journalist Denise
Mann, some diet soft drink aficionados imbibe anywhere from four cans to
2 liters every day, raising questions for medical professionals about whether
these consumers are “true addicts.”

The article cites self-reported “addicts” as well as researchers claiming, for
instance, that some diet soda drinkers are simply swapping one compulsive
behavior for another, or conditioning themselves to crave diet soft drinks
while performing certain activities. But Mann also references research
suggesting that “the artificial sweeteners in diet soda (such as aspartame) may
prompt people to keep refilling their glass because these fake sugars don’t
satisfy like the real thing.” In addition, she notes that although these
sweeteners do not contain calories, “drinking too much diet soda might be
risky in the long-run.”

“In recent years, habitual diet-soda consumption has been linked to an
increased risk of low bone mineral density in women, type 2 diabetes, and
stroke,” warns Mann. “What’s more, a growing body of research suggests that
excessive diet soda intake may actually encourage weight gain.”