Researchers at the University of Texas’s Health Science Centre researchers have found that consumption of diet sodas has a direct correlation with belly fat. People consuming diet soda regularly were found to put on at least three inches around their waistline over a ten year period, they said after observing more than 700 volunteers above the age of 65 for ten years.

Diet sodas are extremely popular with weight loss enthusiasts but the new study proves that these fizzy drinks cleverly marketed as ‘diet’ sodas are just as bad as regular ones for those switching on to them in a bid to lose weight or stay thinner.

“The study observed that diet beverages consumers gained more than three times the fat non-consumers did. Waists of the non-diet drinkers expanded with 0.77 cm, compared to the 1.83 cm growth in frequent consumers,” it was reported.

“Our study seeks to fill the age gap by exploring the adverse health effects of diet soda intake in individuals 65 years of age and older,” explains lead author Sharon Fowler, MPH, from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio told Science Daily. “The burden of metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease, along with healthcare costs, is great in the ever-increasing senior population,” he added.

Though Fowler was unable to pinpoint the reasons behind this strange behavior, she blamed it to the presence of artificial sweeteners in diet drinks.

While trying to interpret the results, the scientists attributed to the faster putting on of belly fat among diet soda consumers to the fact that it changes the bacteria in the gut and intestines, leading to a change in metabolic processes.

“The gut micro biome is like our personal inner rainforest,” she said. “If our intestines are like an ecosystem, then highly acidic drinks like sodas day after day may be comparable to acid rain. To borrow from Austin Powers, it’s not a ‘consequence-free environment.’”

Secondly, the artificial sweeteners present in these drinks in huge quantities perhaps trick the pancreas in releasing too much hormones and insulin is known to store fat. Not only that, diet drinks might also be tricking the brain to get more calories from other sources.