'Diet Soda Is Better For You Than Water,' Study Funded By Coca-Cola And Pepsi Claims

A glass of wine is equivalent to an hour at the gym. Eating chocolate can make you lose weight. We've all heard these "too good to be true" studies that have either been proven to be exaggerated or else funded by the very product the research claims support.Now we can add yet another study to the growing pile of scientific skepticism: Research published by a team of professors at the University of Bristol in the International Journal of Obesity that claims diet soda is a better weight loss tool than water.

The review of 5,500 pre-existing studies, unsurprisingly, was funded by the International Life Science Institute, which is headed by a number of heavyweight executives, as well as corporate representatives from Coca-Cola, Nestlé, PepsiCo, Mars, and Unilever.

The study claims that low-energy sweeteners "in place of sugar, in children and adults, leads to reduced energy intake and body weight, and possibly also when compared with water." According to The Sunday Times, the scientists involved in the study were also paid additional funding by the Life Science Institute. In addition, of the thousands of studies reviewed, only a few were cited as proof that low-calorie sweeteners are good for you. Only one study, funded by the American Beverage Association, claims that weight loss is easier when drinking diet soda, as compared with water.

The researchers have pointed out that the data was peer reviewed, "which means the data and conclusions have been scrutinized by other scientists."