You’ve probably heard rumblings in the last year that cast a gray shadow over that Diet Cola you may be sipping right now. I am also a lover of an occasional diet soda, but I’ve cut way back recently due to the current research. (Not a coffee drinker, my little dose of caffeine in the morning used to be a diet coke.)
Rethink Your Drink, Especially if Pregnant!
In my book Eating Expectantly, I discuss how your baby can be programmed for good (or bad) health by your health and eating habits. This latest study from Canada seems to confirm it.
In this study, there was a strong link between daily drinking artificially sweetened drinks and the risk of their baby being in the “overweight” category at their first birthday. (Even after the researchers took into account the mom’s calorie intake, smoking, birth weight of her baby, breastfeeding and baby’s introduction to solids.) Interestingly, the babies of moms who drank sugar-sweetened drinks did not have the increased risk of overweight.
Bottom Line: Think before you drink…and I don’t just mean alcohol.
You can read the study in JAMA Pediatrics here. http://archpedi.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2521471
And the LA Times take on it here: http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-diet-soda-pregnancy-childhood-obesity-snap-story.html
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