Diet drink alert

We should be cautious in drawing lessons from the study that apparently shows a link between consumption of diet drinks and heart health (your report, 2 February).

It does not take into account important factors such as family history and weight gain, and it conflicts with a very well-established idea that the consumption of diet drinks as part of a calorie-controlled diet can help reduce obesity and thus reduce the incidence of heart conditions.

Much more work would be needed before any reliance could be placed on the findings of this study.

The best advice remains that people who are looking to control or reduce their weight will often find that diet drinks can play a useful role in their diet.

Richard Laming

British Soft Drinks Association

Bedford Row

London