--- title: Diet Soda Drinkers More Likely to Eat Unhealthy Food description: People may think they are saving on calories when they opt for diet soda, but a new study reveals that those who commonly choose diet drinks often compensate and eat unhealthy food. canonical: https://time.com/4033298/diet-soda-unhealthy-food/ author: Alexandra Sifferlin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-09-14T14:33:09.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T10:54:39.111Z article:section: Health og:title: Diet Soda Drinkers More Likely to Eat Unhealthy Food og:description: People may think they are saving on calories when they opt for diet soda, but a new study reveals that those who commonly choose diet drinks often compensate and eat unhealthy food. og:url: https://time.com/4033298/diet-soda-unhealthy-food/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcaf955fcd8c90de8/6987789355a859115ca851e3/food-snacks-potato-chips.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: TIME.com stock photos Food Snacks Potato Chips og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Diet Soda Drinkers More Likely to Eat Unhealthy Food twitter:description: People may think they are saving on calories when they opt for diet soda, but a new study reveals that those who commonly choose diet drinks often compensate and eat unhealthy food. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcaf955fcd8c90de8/6987789355a859115ca851e3/food-snacks-potato-chips.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Diet Soda Drinkers More Likely to Eat Unhealthy Food, Study Finds > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Health Matters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Health Matters is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The latest health news and expert advice on living well. Health Matters makes the fast-moving world of health more useful, surprising and human, from the latest science and medical breakthroughs to practical ideas for living better. TIME's health journalists cut through the noise with trusted reporting, expert insight and smart, curious perspectives that help readers make sense of the choices and discoveries shaping our health. 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Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Sep 14, 2015 2:33 PM UTC  Elizabeth Renstrom for TIME by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Sep 14, 2015 2:33 PM UTC People may think they are avoiding calories when they opt for diet soda, but a [new study](http://www.andjrnl.org/article/S2212-2672%2815%2901258-7/abstract) claims that those who commonly choose diet drinks often compensate for the low calorie content by eating more unhealthy food. In the new study, a University of Illinois researcher looked at the dietary habits of more than 22,000 U.S. adults over a 10-year period. Kinesiology and community health professor Ruopeng An looked at the subjects’ daily calorie intake as well as their consumption of “discretionary foods”—foods that do not belong to any major food group and are usually low in nutrients and high in sugar, sodium, fats, and cholesterol (think cookies and french fries). The study also focused on the individuals’ consumption of five different types of drinks: diet or sugar-free drinks, sugar-sweetened beverages, coffee, tea and alcohol. Over 90% of people in the study ate discretionary foods every day. While people who drank diet beverages and coffee consumed fewer calories every day than drinkers of alcohol and sugary beverages, they ate a higher proportion of their daily calories from discretionary foods. “It may be that people who consume diet beverages feel justified in eating more, so they reach for a muffin or a bag of chips,” An said [in a statement](https://news.illinois.edu/blog/view/6367/240046). “Or perhaps, in order to feel satisfied, they feel compelled to eat more of these high-calorie foods.” The study suggests switching to diet drinks in an effort to lose weight may not be a good strategy. More research is needed to determine precisely why people who opt for diet drinks consume more unhealthy food, but An says people should pay attention to both what they eat and what they drink. The study is [published](http://www.andjrnl.org/article/S2212-2672%2815%2901258-7/abstract) in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4033298/diet-soda-unhealthy-food/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4033298/diet-soda-unhealthy-food/"},"headline":"Diet Soda Drinkers More Likely to Eat Unhealthy Food, Study Finds","datePublished":"2015-09-14T14:33:09.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T10:54:39.111Z","description":"“It may be that people who consume diet beverages feel justified in eating more\"","url":"https://time.com/4033298/diet-soda-unhealthy-food/","keywords":["Diet & Nutrition"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcaf955fcd8c90de8/6987789355a859115ca851e3/food-snacks-potato-chips.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alexandra Sifferlin","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcaf955fcd8c90de8/6987789355a859115ca851e3/food-snacks-potato-chips.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"TIME.com stock photos Food Snacks Potato Chips","caption":"TIME.com stock photos Food Snacks Potato Chips","creditText":"Elizabeth Renstrom for TIME","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/dietnutrition/","name":"Diet & Nutrition"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4033298/diet-soda-unhealthy-food/","name":"Diet Soda Drinkers More Likely to Eat Unhealthy Food, Study Finds"}}]}] ```