Diet soda drinkers might get fatter and unhealthier than their 'regular' soda counterparts

Zero-calorie beverages may seem appealing – but a new paper argues that artificially sweetened drinks could actually throw off your metabolism, affecting the way your body processes regular sugars.

Published in the journal Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism, the report argues that artificially sweetened beverages are not only linked with ill health effects similar to those associated with consuming regular soda – but they may even cause worse long term health outcomes.

"In lots of ways, (artificial sweeteners) have been given the benefit of the doubt just because they don't have any calories," lead author Susan Swithers, of the department of psychological sciences and ingestive behavior research center at Purdue University, told FoxNews.com.

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"[But] when the body responds normally to sugar, it signals that an intake of both calories and sugar has occurred so the body can release the hormones needed to prepare," Swithers said. "(This) prevents big spikes in blood sugar, and those same hormones are thought to have direct effects on satiety," Swithers said.

Yet, when people eat something that tastes sweet – but introduces no real sugar into the blood system – it may throw off the body's response mechanism, Swithers noted.

Solusi Sehat