Diet sodas reduce calorie consumption, may cause other problems

Like other Washington schools, CWA's vending machines offer only diet sodas.

Diet sodas have become extremely popular in a society worried about obesity, but the sugarless drinks might cause other health concerns.

To combat teen obesity, schools have replaced regular sodas in their vending machines with diet sodas. According to KOMO 4 News, beverage companies have responded to complaints from health organizations, and they have removed sugar drinks from schools, including Charles Wright Academy.

Many students welcome the change, not wanting excess calories and sugar in their diet.

“I drink diet sodas and I like them because there are fewer calories. I believe that the school should not change [its choice to offer only diet sodas],” Kyle Jiganti (’13) said.

“If you are going to drink soda, you should drink diet because it doesn’t have all the sugar and calories that normal soda does. [Diet sodas] aren’t as unhealthy as the other super sugary drinks we already have,” Julia Donner (’11) said.

Even though diet sodas lack unwanted calories, some students want regular sodas to come back because they prefer their taste.

“Personally, I like regular sodas because diet tastes like it is missing something,” Rebecca Long (’13) said.

“I prefer regular sodas, [but] I don’t think we should get them at our school because it makes the parents happy to think that their kids can only get diet sodas [because] they think that its healthier,” Brandon White (’10) said.

Despite popular opinion and the growing trend, some believe that diet sodas are not actually healthy for us, and some research supports this skepticism. For example, researcher Noel Mueller of The American Association for Cancer Research writes in his study “Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention” that diet sodas are unhealthy because they can trick the pancreas into making more insulin. This contributes to cancer cell growth and increases the risk of getting pancreatic cancer, Mueller said.

“I think diet sodas are good, but I do not think they are any healthier than regular sodas. It’s still soda and there is nothing in it that will do any good for you,” White said.

In his 1990 book, “In Bad Taste: The MSG Syndrome” Dr. George Schwartz, M.D., writes that a chemical found in diet sodas called aspartame can cause cancer. Aspartame, he writes, is a toxic sweetener that can damage brain neurons and cause nerve cells to weaken and perish. It especially affects the brains of children as they are starting to develop.

“I think diet sodas suck. The artificial sweeteners are harmful to the body’s system,” Drew Pine (’11) said.