Artificial Sweetener Outed as Diet Saboteur

Obesity rates are on the rise, with about 33% of Americans being overweight. Many Americans use artificial sweeteners instead of sugar in an effort to control their weight. Yet, the safety of artificial sweeteners has stirred up a controversy. There seems to be evidence that the consumption of artificial sweeteners in large quantities is harmful and may even cause cancer. However, most people, including medical professionals, have deemed the moderate consumption of artificial sweeteners as safe and a good method of weight control. Still, there have been observations made that artificial sweetener consumption results in users being left feeling hungrier and eating more. Now psychologists at Purdue University's Ingestive Behavior Research Center under the lead of Susan Swithers, PhD, and Terry Davidson, PhD, have compiled evidence of this occurrence in a study they conducted. Artificial sweeteners turn out to be real diet saboteurs.

A healthy diet and exercise are common methods to fight weight gain. As part of a healthy diet many Americans substitute sugar with artificial sweeteners. Consequently, in an effort to cater to these people, many manufacturers have developed products containing artificial sweeteners instead of sugar. Products such as diet sodas and sugar-free cookies, among others, have been touted as healthy and are advertised as supporting a healthy diet helping consumers to effectively cut their sugar intake.

Sounds easy, doesn't it? Enjoy what you love to eat and don't feel guilty about it. There is no sugar. You will not gain weight because of this product. Have your cake and eat it, too!

Event though it sounds too good to be true, many Americans bought into this trend for years. Then concerns had been raised about the safety of artificial sweeteners and their toxicity to the body. There have even been assumptions that the consumption of artificial sweeteners might eventually lead to the development of cancer. However, the National Cancer Institute refutes this and maintains that the artificial sweeteners currently available on the market are safe, if used in moderation. Because the US has strict regulations for this type of food additive, the normal consumption of the types of sweetener sold in this country is deemed as quite harmless even by the medical community, which still recommends it as a safe alternative to sugar for the purpose of maintaining a healthy diet in order to lose weight.

New concerns in regards to artificial sweeteners are now being raised targeting the very goal of artificial sweetener usage. It has been observed that people using artificial sweetener actually feel hungrier afterwards. This and the false assumption that no sugar and low or no calorie intake equals no or hardly any weight gain, consequently lead to higher food intake. Ultimately, people, who habitually replace sugar with artificial sweeteners, actually have more trouble maintaining or reaching a healthy weight level.

A study conducted by psychologists at Purdue University's Ingestive Behavior Research Center investigated this issue and compiled evidence supporting exactly this observation. The scientists strongly believe artificial sweeteners to be diet saboteurs, not diet aids. For the purpose of their study, the researchers fed a group of rats yogurt sweetened with glucose, and another group of rats yogurt sweetened with zero-calorie saccharin. They were able to observe that the second group afterwards consumed more calories, gained more weight, and also put on more body fat. Even worse, they did cut back later and ultimately had a higher weight and body fat level than the control group.

According to the scientists, it appears that the saccharin alters the body's ability to regulate food consumption. With normal sugar consumption the 'sweet experience' is followed up by a respective calorie intake. Triggered by the 'sweet experience,' the body gears up for the digestion of this calorie high food. However, with artificial sweetener the 'sweet experience' is not followed by many calories, which confuses the body. Thus, this leads to more food consumption or less energy use for digestive purposes, which in turn leads to a greater weight gain.

However, prior studies at the human level have shown to be inconclusive as the experience of a 'sweet sensation' after the consumption of artificial sweeteners seems to have an impact on how the body's regulatory function in regards to food intake is altered. People appear to have different experiences in their 'sweet sensation' when consuming artificial and even natural sweeteners. Prior human studies did not take this into consideration, which might have led to the variety of inconclusive outcomes like weight gain, weight loss, and no effect on weight.

Still the scientists, even though thus far they only conducted tests on rats, strongly believe the results can be translated to effects on humans as well. Consumption of artificial sweeteners does lead to greater weight gain than consumption of regular sugar. They point out the rise in obesity rates correlates to the increasing use of artificial sweeteners in food products since artificial sweeteners first hit the market. The researchers do acknowledge that further studies on humans are necessary to exactly demonstrate the effect of artificial sweeteners on body weight and body fat. However, they urge the medical community and nutritionists to take these results serious and to alter their diet recommendations accordingly.

In the meantime, the scientists involved in the study recommend counting calories to regulate food consumption instead of low-calorie food products.