zlacker

I hazard a guess that the most popular diet soda is Diet Coke, which contains significantly more caffeine than regular Coke. Even if there is a causal link between autism in the son and diet soda consumption in the mother, jumping to the conclusion that it is the fault of aspartame specifically seems dubious.

Additionally, do we know whether autistic people drink more diet soda than others? If autism is at least partly genetic, as it seems to be, then the mothers in the study might themselves be autistic or carriers of autism-linked genetic mutations.

I have read in prior research that overweight mothers are more likely to have autistic children. Another possibility is that being overweight is associated with frequent diet soda consumption, and it’s the mother being overweight that is more the issue than the soda consumption per se.

Anyway, I am not at all convinced of the implication that a mother drinking diet soda increases her child’s risk of autism, especially if the mother is at a healthy weight.

>>BadCoo+(OP)
> Diet Coke, which contains significantly more caffeine than regular Coke

I'd never heard that before, but you're right -- "Coke contains 32 mg of caffeine per 12-ounce (335-ml) serving. Diet Coke is higher in caffeine, with about 42 mg per 12 ounces (335 ml)." [1]

I wonder why that is? If people expect an energy boost from Coke, and if sugar isn't contributing to that any more, a little extra caffeine will?

Coke Zero, on the other hand, "contains only 34mg of caffeine per can (12oz)" [2]. So it's more like regular Coke.

[1] https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/caffeine-in-coke

[2] https://lifeboostcoffee.com/blogs/lifeboost/caffeine-in-coke...

>>crazyg+y3
Caffeine is an important part of the taste, so I'd guess it's largely a taste-based decision. Probably doesn't hurt that caffeine is highly addictive and habit forming

>>BadCoo+(OP)
Here’s one recent paper on the possible connection between autism and the mother being overweight, but there are others: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/oby.23228

>>crazyg+y3
Compensation for the lack of a sugar rush?

>>freedo+v5
You are more correct than you know. “Coke” (the full sugar, red can kind) is actually Coca-Cola “Classic.” Notably in the 80s Coca-Cola reformulated to the absolute outrage of the soda drinkers of the world (1985). They had released a diet version of this reformulation three years prior (1982)—I suppose as a trial run—based on Tab. For some reason people liked the diet version. This is Diet Coke. After backpedaling on the reformulation, the full-sugar flagship was re-released in all its former glory, dubbed Coca-Cola Classic. Much later, a diet version of this “classic” formula was released. This is Coke Zero. So yes, it’s absolutely about taste, because Coke and Diet Coke aren’t based on the same recipe!

>>BadCoo+(OP)
>Diet Coke, which contains significantly more caffeine than regular Coke

It is true that Diet Coke has a higher caffeine content. Though I would not say it is significant:

A 12 oz. can of Coke contains 32 mg, Diet Coke contains 42 mg

A difference of 10 mg is not significant in this context.