That's kind of a click baity interpretation of the study. What really happened in that study was that the subjects were given a diet vs regular soda, then allowed to eat as much as they wanted. In the case where they drank diet soda, they did eat more calories, but the total calories consumed including the drink itself was still lower for the diet soda case.
For further discussion on this study (and others like it) I highly recommend the stronger by science podcast [1]. And [2] is a link to the study details (to avoid whatever misleading spin npr might be giving it).
That study was in patients that were already type-2 diabetic. Here's one that compares stevia, aspartame, and sucrose by satiety and (what I assume is) measures of glucose and insulin in blood: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2900484/
Only immediately obvious caveat is that the sample size may be a bit small:
> 19 healthy lean (BMI = 20.0 – 24.9) and 12 obese (BMI = 30.0 – 39.9) individuals 18 to 50 years old
I have a sodastream and use it daily, and I've read articles going both ways on this. It seems that carbonated pure water is not nearly as bad as soda for teeth, but that perhaps it's not that great (especially for kids). Have you seen definitive guidance on this? Does carbonating less make a difference? Using a straw? I've heard that drinking plain water after is a good idea, but don't know if that's grounded in science.
A quick google shows that plain carbonated water has a pH of 4, which is right around where it becomes corrosive to enamel. So, if you just drink a bit of water afterwards, you should be bringing your mouth's pH well above 4. Maybe swish it around as well.
For further discussion on this study (and others like it) I highly recommend the stronger by science podcast [1]. And [2] is a link to the study details (to avoid whatever misleading spin npr might be giving it).
[1] https://www.sbspod.com/episodes/reverse-dieting-bodybuilding... (starts around 1:49:39, it's the second last topic)
[2] https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle...