A new study suggests that too much consumption of diet soda could promote the onset of MASLD, or metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, by boosting one's BMI, or body mass index.
MASLD
Formerly known as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), MASLD is one of the most prevalent types of liver disorders. According to current estimates, MASLD may affect as many as 46% of the global population.
The hallmark of the disease is the excess accumulation of fat in the liver. It does not come with any initial symptoms. The conditions can progress to become MASH, which stands for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis. This is a condition that is more serious and could result in the scarring of the liver and cirrhosis.
At present, there is no approved medication for treating this liver disease. Doctors advise adhering to dietary changes and exercise regimens in order to reduce body fat to reverse or prevent MASLD.
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Diet Soda Consumption and MASLD
For a long time, experts have considered the consumption of soda to boost MASLD risk. This happens by boosting liver inflammation and insulin resistance.
Though their diet counterparts are claimed to have izero calories and zero sugar, experts still do not consider these beverages healthy. Now, in a recent study entitled "Association between diet soft drink consumption and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease: findings from the NHANES," researchers embarked on a journey to look into the possible link between MASLD risk and too much diet soda intake. The findings show a strong link between the two factors.
The authors note that, from what they know, this is the first study to look into the link of MASLD and diet soda intake in a sample that is nationally representative. They also believe that their findings could offer significant dietary recommendations for preventing and treating the condition.
To look deeper into this possible link, the authors examined data taken from the NHANES (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey). Record details regarding the consumption of soda were only available for the dietary interviews in 2003 to 2006. The authors looked into the data of 2,378 participants.
The final assessment of the study was able to categorize 1,289 people without MASLD and 1,089 individuals with MASLD. As the NHANEs did not include any liver transient elastography, MASLD status was determined through the FLI (fatty liver index).
It was found that the majority of the MASLD group were males (54.6%). The diet soda intake of the MASLD group was also observed to be dramatically higher compared to the reported consumption of the non-MASLD group.
On top of this, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension had remarkably higher prevalences in the MASLD group compared to their non-MASLD counterparts.
BMI as a Possible Mediator
The researchers also looked into if BMI could be a mediating MASLD factor. After taking into account dietary factors, race, gender, age, and cardiometabolic conditions, the researchers discovered that diet soda intake was positively linked to MASLD occurrence.
The researchers also observed a positive link between MASLD and BMI. The researchers report that it was estimated that BMI mediated 84.7% of the total link between MASLD and diet soda intake.
While the study comes with certain limitations, the authors think that doing randomized controlled trials (RCTs) could offer better evidence for the study results.
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