- Major soda makers pledge to cut calories consumed by 20% by 2025
- Consumer demand has risen for diet beverages
- To cut calories, soda makers are using artificial and natural sweeteners
(CNN) -- Soda makers want to cut the number of calories you're drinking each year. The big three -- Coke, Pepsi and Dr Pepper -- have all pledged to reduce the number of beverage calories Americans are consuming by 20% over the next decade.
Their plan doesn't come as a big surprise; soda makers have been under fire for some time for their contribution to the American obesity epidemic. And the companies' motives probably aren't totally altruistic. As more people start to count calories, consumer demand has risen for diet beverages.
"Full calorie or regularly sweetened beverage consumption is going down and has been going down in the last couple of years," American Beverage Association spokesman Christopher Gindlesperger told CNN in June. "Our companies continue to innovate, to offer options... and consumers are taking advantage of them."
The calories in beverages primarily come from sugar, Gindlesperger said. To cut calories but keep the taste, soda makers generally substitute in natural or artificial sweeteners.
10 reasons to give up diet soda When taken at face value, diet soda seems like a health-conscious choice. It saves you the 140-plus calories you'd find in a sugary soft drink while still satisfying your urge for something sweet with artificial sweeteners like aspartame, saccharin, and sucralose. But there's more to this chemical cocktail than meets the eye. Health.com: The 25 best diet tricks of all time 
It confuses your body Artificial sweeteners have more intense flavor than real sugar, so over time products like diet soda dull our senses to naturally sweet foods like fruit, says Brooke Alpert, author of "The Sugar Detox." Even more troubling, these sugar stand-ins have been shown to have the same effect on your body as sugar. "Artificial sweeteners trigger insulin, which sends your body into fat storage mode and leads to weight gain," Alpert says. Health.com: 5 steps to quitting artificial sweeteners 
It could lead to weight gain, not weight loss Diet soda is calorie-free, but it won't necessarily help you lose weight. Researchers from the University of Texas found that over the course of about a decade, diet soda drinkers had a 70% greater increase in waist circumference compared with non-drinkers. And get this: participants who slurped down two or more sodas a day experienced a 500% greater increase. Health.com: 27 Mistakes Healthy People Make 
It may increase your risk of type 2 diabetes Drinking one diet soda a day was associated with a 36% increased risk of metabolic syndrome and diabetes in a University of Minnesota study. Metabolic syndrome describes a cluster of conditions (including high blood pressure, elevated glucose levels, raised cholesterol, and large waist circumference) that put people at high risk for heart disease, stroke, and diabetes, Bjork explains. Health.com: Could you have type 2? 10 diabetes symptoms 
It has no nutritional value When you drink diet soda, you're not taking in any calories -- but you're also not swallowing anything that does your body any good, either. The best no-calorie beverage? Plain old water, says Bjork. "Water is essential for many of our bodily processes, so replacing it with diet soda is a negative thing," she says. If it's the fizziness you crave, try sparkling water. Health.com: 15 big benefits of water 
Its sweetener is linked to headaches Early studies on aspartame and anecdotal evidence suggests that this artificial sweetener may trigger headaches in some people. "I have several clients who used to suffer from migraines and pinpointed their cause to diet soda," Bjork says. Health.com: Headache-proof your diet 
It'll ruin your smile over time Excessive soda drinking could leave you looking like a "Breaking Bad" extra, according to a case study published in the journal General Dentistry. The research compared the mouths of a cocaine user, a methamphetamine user, and a habitual diet-soda drinker, and found the same level of tooth erosion in each of them. The culprit here is citric acid, which weakens and destroys tooth enamel over time. Health.com: 20 things that can ruin your smile 
It makes drinking more dangerous Using diet soda as a low-calorie cocktail mixer has the dangerous effect of getting you drunk faster than sugar-sweetened beverages, according to research from Northern Kentucky University. The study revealed that participants who consumed cocktails mixed with diet drinks had a higher breath alcohol concentration than those who drank alcohol blended with sugared beverages. The researchers believe this is because our bloodstream is able to absorb artificial sweetener more quickly than sugar. Health.com: 6 ways to enjoy cocktails guilt-free 
It's associated with depression A recent study presented at a the American Academy of Neurology meeting found that over the course of 10 years, people who drank more than four cups or cans of soda a day were 30% more likely to develop depression than those who steered clear of sugary drinks. The correlation held true for both regular and diet drinks, but researchers were sure to note that the risk appeared to be greater for those who primarily drank diet sodas and fruit punches. Although this type of study can't prove cause and effect, its findings are worth considering. Health.com: The 10 most depressing states in the U.S. 
It may be bad for your bones Women over 60 are already at a greater risk for osteoporosis than men, and Tufts University researchers found that drinking soda, including diet soda, compounds the problem. They discovered that female cola drinkers had nearly 4% lower bone mineral density in their hips than women who didn't drink soda. The research even controlled for the participants' calcium and vitamin D intake. Additionally, a 2006 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that cola intake (all kinds, not just diet) was associated with low bone-mineral density in women. Health.com: 11 foods for healthy bones 
It may hurt your heart Just one diet soft drink a day could boost your risk of having a vascular event such as stroke, heart attack, or vascular death, according to researchers from the University of Miami and Columbia University. Their study found that diet soda devotees were 43% more likely to have experienced a vascular event than those who drank none. Regular soda drinkers did not appear to have an increased risk of vascular events. Researchers say more studies need to be conducted before definitive conclusions can be made about diet soda's effects on health. This article originally appeared on Health.com. 10 reasons to give up diet soda 
Sugar has become public enemy No. 1 in the nutrition field -- doctors and public health advocates alike are "Fed Up" with the amount Americans are consuming. The World Health Organization recently proposed new guidelines that recommend consuming less than 5% of our total daily calories from added sugars. For an adult at a normal body mass index, or BMI, 5% would be around 25 grams of sugar -- or six teaspoons. While food accounts for a large portion of the added sugar in our diet, many experts recommend cutting back on sugary beverages to reduce daily intake. In the following slides, we compare the amount of sugar found in some of America's top-selling beverages -- according to Beverage Industry magazine's 2013 State of the Industry Report -- to the sugar found in common sugary snacks. Many of these companies offer lower or no-sugar versions of their drinks, says American Beverage Association spokesman Christopher Gindlesperger. "Nearly half -- 45% -- of all non-alcoholic beverages contain 0% (sugar)," he says. Click through to see the comparisons. Keep in mind that we are matching the amount of sugar, not calories, in each of the following examples. 
Soda: Coca-Cola. A 20-ounce bottle of Coca-Cola Classic contains 65 grams of sugar, which is the same amount of sugar found in five Little Debbie Swiss Rolls. 
Soda: Pepsi. A 20-ounce bottle of Pepsi contains 69 grams of sugar. Each Little Debbie Swiss Roll contains an estimated 13 grams of sugar. 
Juice: Minute Maid 100% Apple Juice. This 15.2-ounce bottle contains 49 grams of sugar, which is about the amount of sugar in 10 Oreos. Sugar occurs naturally in fruit, but natural sugar isn't any different in chemical structure from what most people refer to as added sugar. The body processes both the same way. One benefit of eating whole fruit is the fiber that helps slow absorption; that fiber is generally lost in the juice-making process. 
Juice: Sunny D Original. A 16-ounce bottle of SunnyD Original contains 28 grams of sugar. Each these six Oreos contains about 4.6 grams of sugar. 
Tea: Arizona Green Tea with Ginseng & Honey. A 23-ounce can of Arizona Green Tea contains 51 grams of sugar, which is about the same as can be found in 20 Hershey's Kisses. 
Tea: Lipton Lemon Iced Tea. There are 32 grams of sugar in this 20-ounce bottle of iced tea. Each of these 12 Hershey's Kisses contains approximately 2.5 grams of sugar. 
Energy drink: Red Bull. Three-quarters of a cup of generic brand frosted flakes contains about 11 grams of sugar. This 16-ounce can of Red Bull has 52 grams of sugar. 
Energy drink: Monster Energy. This 16-ounce can of Monster Energy has 54 grams of sugar. It contains the same amount of sugar as about 3.5 cups of frosted flakes. 
Milk: Skim milk. An 8-ounce glass of skim milk has about 11 grams of sugar. A single Starburst candy has 2.7 grams. 
Milk: Silk Vanilla Soymilk. A glass of vanilla soymilk has about 8 grams of sugar, which is equal to the amount found in three Starbursts. 
Milk: Silk Almond Milk Original. A glass of original almond milk contains 7 grams of sugar. Unsweetened almond milk has 0 grams. 
Juice smoothie: Naked Berry Blast. The 15.2-ounce bottle of Naked Berry Blast has 29 grams of sugar. Each of these eight Chips Ahoy! cookies contains about 3.6 grams of sugar. 
Juice smoothie: Bolthouse Farms Berry Boost. You'd consume 24 grams of sugar by drinking this Bolthouse Farms Berry Boost 15.2-ounce bottle -- or by eating six Chips Ahoy! cookies. 
Sports drink: Gatorade Thirst Quencher Cool Blue. This 32-ounce Gatorade bottle has 56 grams of sugar, the same that can be found in approximately five Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. 
Sports drink: Powerade Mountain Berry Blast. Powerade's Mountain Berry Blast also has 56 grams of sugar. Each of these five Reese's cups contains about 11 grams of sugar. 
Iced coffee: Starbucks Iced Flavored Latte. A Grande Starbucks Iced Flavored Latte with 2% milk and your choice of syrup has about 28 grams of sugar. The same amount of sugar is in 2.5 Krispy Kreme donuts. 
Iced coffee: Dunkin Donuts Iced Caramel Latte. A 16-ounce Dunkin Donuts Iced Caramel Latte has 37 grams of sugar. Each Krispy Kreme donut has about 11 grams of sugar. 
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Sugar-sweetened beverages The result is a low- or no-calorie option that satisfies your sweet tooth.
But, and this is a big but, science hasn't quite finished testing these sweeteners' impact on your body. How do they affect your metabolism? Do the chemicals in the artificial sweeteners pose any risk? While most agencies seem to agree that we can rule out cancer as an ill-effect, the medical community is still deciding whether diet beverages will really help you lose weight.
Real or fake sugar: Does it matter?
Let's start with the good news: cutting calories has been shown time and again to be an effective weight-loss strategy. If you used to drink three 20-ounce bottles of regular Coke every day and you switch to a beverage with zero calories, you're saving yourself around 720 calories a day. Do that for five days and you'll lose a pound (or at least prevent yourself from gaining another one).
One study, funded by the American Beverage Association, found that diet soda drinkers who continued to drink soda while on a diet lost more weight than diet soda drinkers who stopped. The results didn't surprise lead study author, Dr. Jim Hill. Those who had to give up diet soda were relying on more willpower to stick to their diets than those who allowed themselves the small indulgence without the added calories, he says.
Drinking sugarless beverages also helps you adhere to the World Health Organization's recommendation to cut down on sugar consumption. The WHO recommends people consume less than 5% of their daily calories from sugar.
"There is increasing concern that consumption of free sugars, particularly in the form of sugar-sweetened beverages, may result in ... an increase in total caloric intake, leading to an unhealthy diet, weight gain and increased risk of noncommunicable diseases," WHO said in a statement.
Of particular concern, WHO said, is the role sugar plays in causing dental diseases worldwide.
But using sugar substitutes over a long period of time may also have a detrimental effect on your health.
In 2013, scientists found that diet soda drinkers have the same health issues -- excessive weight gain, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease -- as regular soda drinkers. This study built on previous research that had found diet soda drinkers had an increased risk of type 2 diabetes compared to those who didn't drink soda.
"What the prospective studies actually suggest is that if you go out seven years, 10 years, 15 years, 20 years, the cohorts of individuals who are consuming diet sodas have much worse health outcomes," study author Susan Swithers told CNN.
Why? No one knows for sure, but scientists suspect artificial and natural sweeteners trick your body into thinking it's consuming sugar when it's really not. The body responds just like it would to sugar, which throws your metabolic system out of whack.
"You've messed up the whole system, so when you consume real sugar, your body doesn't know if it should try to process it because it's been tricked by the fake sugar so many times," explained Swithers.
10 reasons to give up diet soda
A small study published this year in the journal Nature found that many mice and humans became glucose intolerant after eating or drinking regular doses of aspartame, saccharin or sucralose, common artificial sweeteners.
Glucose intolerance is a sign of metabolic conditions like pre-diabetes and Type 2 diabetes, depending on the severity.
Artificial sweeteners may also affect our gut bacteria. In a study of 400 humans, scientists noticed study participants' gut bacteria changed after they consumed artificial sweeteners. These bacteria communities in your gastrointestinal system can play a crucial role in how our body processes food.
Bottom line? Seeing more diet beverages on the grocery store shelves doesn't mean you have to stock up. Try water or unsweetened tea -- and save the soda for special occasions.
CNN's Jen Christensen, Danielle Dellorto and William Hudson contributed to this story.
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