Diet soda seems like a sensible way to cut calories, but it has been controversial. Some scientists feared that the taste of artificially sweetened beverages would lead people to have a greater interest in sweet foods such as desserts or candies. A recent study found that hypothesis does not hold up.
Approximately 300 people, most of them women, were included in the Choose Healthy Options Consciously Everyday (CHOICE) trial because they consumed at least 280 calories daily in sugar-sweetened beverages (soda or sweet tea). The subjects were randomly assigned to one of three groups: the control group that did not change behavior, a group told to drink water instead of at least two sweetened beverages a day, and a group told to substitute diet soda for its usual beverages. After 6 months, both the people drinking water and those drinking diet pop were consuming fewer calories. There was no evidence that diet soda increased craving for salty or sweet snacks; in fact, this is the group that cut its dessert consumption the most.
[American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, March. 2013]
The People's Perspective on Medicine