Drinking diet soda to control your weight may backfire as a health plan, according to two new studies that link drinking diet soda to poorer health.

In one study, people who said they drank two or more diet sodas a day experienced waist size increases that were six times greater than those of people who didn't drink diet soda.

This abdominal fat is a major risk factor for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and other chronic conditions.

A second study that found the artificial sweetener aspartame raised blood sugar levels in diabetes-prone mice.

The results suggest that heavy aspartame exposure might potentially directly contribute to increased blood glucose levels and the risk of diabetes.

In a different study, researchers observed that artificial sweeteners stimulate cells in the pancreas and change insulin secretion, altering the pH in the gut, and affecting hunger-regulating cells in the brain.

A nutrition scientist at Purdue University suggests that the diet soda-weight gain connection is tied to a behavioral phenomenon – people think they can eat more calories because they consume a beverage without calories.

Drinking diet soda in a occasional attempt to control weight appears to be okay, but as a long term lifestyle choice it may have consequences.

The best no-calorie beverage for good health is, simply, water.