‘Diet’ drinks hike diabetes risk

 ‘Artificial sweetener is worse than sugar’ Paris - Arabstoday Artificially sweetened sodas have been linked to a higher risk of Type 2 diabetes for women than sodas sweetened with ordinary sugar, a French study unveiled on Thursday found. "Contrary to conventional thinking, the risk of diabetes is higher with 'light' beverages compared with 'regular' sweetened drinks," the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm) said. The evidence comes from a wide-scale, long-term study, it said in a press release. More than 66,000 French women volunteers were quizzed about their dietary habits and their health was then monitored over 14 years from 1993 to 2007. The women were middle-aged or older when they joined the study, born between 1925 and 1950. Sugar-sweetened sodas have previously been linked to an increased risk of diabetes, but less is known about their artificially sweetened counterparts, often promoted as a healthier substitute. Researchers led by Inserm's Francoise Clavel-Chapelon and Guy Fagherazzi dug into the data mine to look at the prevalence of diabetes among women who drank either type of soda, and those who drank only unsweetened fruit juice. Compared with juice-drinkers, women who drank both types of soda had a higher incidence of diabetes. The increased risk was about a third for those who drank up to 359 millilitres (12 US ounces) of soda per week, and more than double among those who drank up to 603 ml (20 ounces) per week.   Source: AFP