Switching to diet drinks takes off 0.73kg and nothing more
Fourteen trials put the loss at 0.73kg and 0.72% of body fat. Over years, diet drinks carried much the same raised risk of diabetes, heart disease and death.
What the study found
The swap buys 0.73kg and no long-term protection
That loss comes from fourteen trials, with 0.72% of body fat alongside it. Over years of follow-up, diet drinks carry much the same raised risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and death as the sugary ones they replaced. The panel's own recommendation was water.
The caveat · Weight in trials, disease in cohorts
The short trials and the long follow-ups measure different things, weight on one side and disease on the other, so neither one checks the other. The long-term half only watched what people already drank, and people already at higher risk switching to diet drinks would produce the same pattern. This is a joint position from the Korean Diabetes Association and Korean Nutrition Society rather than a new analysis.