Too much sugar is bad for us, which has led to a big uptake in ‘diet’, sugar-free soft drinks such as Coke Zero or Pepsi Max in recent years.

However, many have speculated whether artificial sweeteners are any better for us, particularly those who can consume sugary drinks in moderation.

A new study published in the journal ‘JCI Insight’ by scientists of the USC Dornsife College found that adolescent rats that consumed artificial sweeteners had long-term memory impairments.

Of course, the fact the study was focused on rats means we cannot say for sure this outcome would affect humans in the same way.

However, the study does suggest that there’s a chance drinking these diet drinks as a teenager could affect your memory in later life.

Study co-author Professor Scott Kanoski of the University of Southern California said: ‘While our findings do not necessarily indicate that someone should not consume low-calorie sweeteners in general, they do highlight that habitual low-calorie sweetener consumption during early life may have unintended, long-lasting impacts.’

They also found that the sweeteners slowed down the metabolism, which can also increase the risk of developing diabetes.

Research also found that sweeteners are more likely to make the taste buds less sensitive to sugar.

This could lead to people consuming more sugary drinks and foods to experience the sweet flavour, the study published in JCI Insight concluded.

The study had two groups of rats consume either just water or a sweetened beverage. Their memories were then tested a month later.

They found that the sweetened drink consuming rats had trouble passing the memory tests when compared to the rats that drank only plain water.