Sweetener tied to weight gain
2008-02-11 11:23
Washington - Using an artificial,
no-calorie sweetener rather than sugar may make it tougher, not
easier, to lose weight, US researchers said on Sunday.
Scientists at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana,
studied rats that were fed food with the artificial sweetener
saccharin and rats fed food with glucose, a natural sugar.
In comparison to rats given yogurt sweetened with glucose,
those that ate yogurt sweetened with saccharin went on to
consume more calories and put on more weight and body fat.
The researchers said sweet foods may prompt the body to get
ready to take in a lot of calories, but when sweetness in the
form of artificial sweeteners is not followed by a large amount
of calories, the body gets confused, which may lead to eating
more or expending less energy than normal.
"The data clearly indicate that consuming a food sweetened
with no-calorie saccharin can lead to greater body-weight gain
and adiposity than would consuming the same food sweetened with
high-calorie sugar," Purdue researchers Susan Swithers and
Terry Davidson wrote in the journal Behavioural Neuroscience,
published by the American Psychological Association.
Counterintuitive
"Such an outcome may seem counterintuitive, if not an
anathema, to human clinical researchers and health care
practitioners who have long recommended the use of low- and
no-calorie sweeteners as a means of weight control."
Other artificial sweeteners such as aspartame that also
taste sweet but do not lead to the delivery of calories may
have similar effects, the researchers said.
"Animals may use sweet taste to predict the caloric
contents of food. Eating sweet non-caloric substances may
degrade this predictive relationship," the researchers wrote.
"With the growing use of non-caloric sweeteners in the
current food environment, millions of people are being exposed
to sweet tastes that are not associated with caloric or
nutritive consequences," the researchers added.
The research was the latest to examine the question of
whether artificial sweeteners - used in many soft drinks and
other foods - help or thwart those trying to lose weight.
Various studies have offered mixed results.
'Causes of obesity oversimplified'
The new research drew criticism from the food industry.
"This study oversimplifies the causes of obesity," Beth
Hubrich, a dietitian with the Calorie Control Council, an
industry association representing companies that make low- and
reduced-calorie foods and beverages, said in a statement.
"The causes of obesity are multi-factorial. Although
surveys have shown that there has been an increase in the use
of 'sugar-free' foods over the years, portion sizes of foods
have also increased, physical activity has decreased and
overall calorie intake has increased," Hubrich added.
The council also said findings in animal studies may not be
applicable to people, which the researchers acknowledged.
Davidson said by e-mail that the implication of the
council's statement "that they, too, are interested in the
health of the public seems insincere."
"If they were sincere, one might expect that they would be
alarmed by findings from animal or human models suggesting that
their products might be contributing to the obesity epidemic
that continues to expand and do its damage," Davidson said.