Diet Coke and Friends Lead to Obesity and Heart Risks??

A recent widely publicized study found that those who consumed even one Diet Coke (or regular Coke) a day had at least a 50 percent greater risk of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. Immediately theories started circulating about why Diet Coke, which has artificial sugar, causes these health risks: Does artificial sugar trigger a behavioral response that increases your desire for all sugar—fake and real? Does the artificial caramel coloring cause insulin resistance, which leads to these diseases? Doubtful. A far more plausible interpretation is that people who drink soda are likely to be less health conscious and to make other poor diet choices—haven’t you seen the co-worker drinking Diet Coke while munching down a bag of M&Ms? The reality is that calories cause weight gain and shifts in insulin that lead to obesity, diabetes and heart disease. The real take-home message of the study: If you drink soda, that may be a red flag that you need to improve your diet on the whole. By carefully considering everything you eat and drink, you can have a very significant reduction on your health risks for you and your baby.

A second prominent study suggested that obesity is contagious. By tracking the health and relationships of a large group of people, researchers demonstrated that when a friend becomes obese, the risk of obesity almost doubles among his or her closest friends. They also showed that close friendship had a stronger impact on body weight than family members (and genetics), even when buddies are separated by 1000 miles or more. The hopeful news is that they also found when someone began losing weight these same close friends would follow the same trend. The results were very compelling but again should be interpreted carefully. The friendship connection is most likely because our friends’ activities, choices, and preferences influence our own. Again the implication is that by being careful about your food choices, you can have a positive impact on your own health as well as others.

Although neither of these studies focused on pregnant women, their implications are important. Rather than adopt the outdated “eating for two” mentality that your friends might espouse, and satisfying every craving and indulgence, be “twice as careful about what you eat and drink.” You’ll not only improve your health and your babies, but also have a positive influence on your friends and families.