Swapping a soda for water or diet cola can help dieters lose up five pounds.
Researchers at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill studied more than three hundred overweight adults. They were assigned to one of three groups: the first group switched calorie-filled drinks for water, the second for diet soft drinks and the third group had no counseling at all.
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The study found the participants who drank water or diet soda were twice as likely to lose five percent of their body weight.
There were some differences between the diet soda a water groups. Soda drinkers who like the taste of sweet drinks or carbonation were more likely to stick with the diet soda switch, while those who switched to water had lower blood sugar levels.
The study was funded by Nestle Waters, USA, but they had no involvement in the study's design or review.