New Studies Refute Hypothesis That Low Calorie Sweeteners Cause Weight Gain

17 Jan 2017 --- Following small changes in dietary and lifestyle habits including replacing sugar with low calorie sweeteners in food and beverages is a smart way to control body weight. Evidence supports that low calorie sweeteners’ use in place of sugar and as part of a behavioural weight loss program can lead to reduced energy intake and be a helpful tool in weight management. Adding further evidence to the already existing science, three new studies support the beneficial role of low calorie sweeteners in weight control and refute the hypothesis that they contribute to weight gain. 

A study published in December 2016 by researchers at Monell Center adds strength to the evidence that low calorie sweeteners do not cause or contribute to weight gain. Based on their findings, the authors concluded that “Good taste can be used to attract consumers to nutrient-sparse foods without concern that this will adversely influence body weight.” In a Press Release issued by the Monell Center, Dr Tordoff further commented on the research around taste and weight gain: “Most people think that good-tasting food causes obesity, but that is not the case. Good taste determines what we choose to eat, but not how much we eat over the long-term”.

A second study published in Appetite replicated earlier experiments supporting the hypothesis that low calorie sweeteners accelerate body weight gain by disrupting sweetness-energy associations, but concluded to the opposite results and specifically found that saccharin did not cause higher weight gain compared to glucose. The authors conclude in their publication that “Our results indicate that the effects of glucose were more harmful than saccharin in terms of body weight gain and fat mass. This result is in opposition to the findings of the Swithers group and others.” This study is of high importance, as it does not confirm the claimed mechanisms suggested in the theory supporting low calorie sweeteners might cause weight gain in animals. 

Lastly, a review of the literature by researchers from the University of Manchester, UK, concluded that there is a lack of evidence for effects of low calorie sweeteners on gut function and that available scientific data don’t support an effect of low calorie sweeteners on gut hormones that are involved in either blood glucose or appetite control. In this review by Bryant and McLaughlin, published in Physiology and Behaviour in 2016, the authors conclude that “evidence remains lacking for effects [of low calorie sweeteners] on human gut function” and that “the data in humans currently do not support the concept that acute consumption of low calorie sweeteners can impinge on food intake via modulation of gastrointestinal homeostatic mechanisms.”