From potential side effects to their general availability, several studies have questioned the use of the so-called “artificial sugar substitutes” or sweeteners, and one of the latest published works focuses on their effectiveness. According to experts at the National Institutes of Health, sweeteners do not help with weight loss, and in certain cases, the final result is the opposite.
It is not the first time that the usefulness of sweeteners has been questioned, and it will definitely not be the last. Personally, I do not consume them because they have a terrible taste: I prefer a bitter tea or coffee over a cup of liquid with a metal taste. However, that is a simple individual decision, while experts in the field of nutrition rely on advanced analysis and peer-reviewed studies. One of the most recent was published by a group of scientists at the National Institutes of Health, which belongs to the Department of Health and Human Services of the United States: 1,454 participants with an average follow-up of ten years, of which 785 were not consumers.
What the Research Found
The results indicate that sweetener users had a higher body mass index (around 0.8 kilograms per square meter), a larger waist circumference (2.6 centimeters), and a higher prevalence (36.7 percent, accompanied by an incidence of 53 percent) of abdominal obesity. In other words, those who replaced sugar for ten years are fatter, which casts doubt on the effectiveness of artificial sweeteners as tools for long-term weight control. The study does not focus on a specific sweetener (say aspartame or saccharin) or a specific product (for example, soft drinks), but covers almost all these variables.
Looking at the “fine numbers” of the study, we discover some very interesting things, starting with the detail that sweetener users consumed a slightly lower daily amount of calories, but also reduced their physical activity. In basic terms, the study reminds us of something that many people seem to ignore: Artificial sweeteners and avoiding sugar in general are not “magic shortcuts” to lose weight. At the end of the day, the only way to achieve it is to reduce calorie intake (read: “eat less”) and move more.
