Why Artificial Sweeteners Don’t Help People Lose Weight

Why Artificial Sweeteners Don’t Help People Lose Weight

Do artificial sweeteners make you feel like you’re doing yourself a favour by giving refined sugar a skip? Well, while you may be saving yourself from the repercussions of a sugar high followed by a sudden slump, you definitely are not saving yourself from gaining weight. 

Recent research suggests that neither does artificial sugar prevent you from gaining weight nor is there enough evidence on their safety. 

artificial sweeteners


Sugar, more than fat or carbs, have been the key discrepancies when it comes to health and lifestyle issues, which has a result increased the popularity of artificial sweeteners instead of regular ("free") sugars. 

Despite the wide acceptance of non-sugar sweeteners, not much is known about their benefits. The evidence on the effects of artificial sugars are limited and often conflicting.

The research, published in the journal The BMJ, compared no intake or lower intake non-sugar sweeteners with higher intake of them in healthy adults and children. 

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Overall, the results revealed that the difference between people who had non-sugar sweeteners and those who didn’t was negligible. 

For instance, in adults, findings from a few small studies suggested small improvements in body mass index and fasting blood glucose levels with non-sugar sweeteners, but the certainty of this evidence was low, reported ANI

Lower intakes of non-sugar sweeteners were associated with slightly less weight gain (-0.09 kg) than higher intakes, but again the certainty of this evidence was low, reported ANI

artificial sweeteners


The difference in the body mass index score and the overall bodyweight was also negligible in children when comparing the consumption of non-sugar sweeteners to sugar. There was very little evidence of the effect of non-sugar sweeteners on overweight or obese adults or children actively trying to lose weight, as well. 

In a linked editorial, Vasanti Malik at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health agrees that more studies are needed to understand the potential health effects of non-sugar sweeteners and to guide policy development, reported ANI

artificial sweeteners


Based on existing evidence, she says use of non-sugar sweeteners as a replacement for free sugars, particularly in sugar-sweetened drinks, "could be a helpful strategy to reduce cardiometabolic risk [chances of having diabetes, heart disease or stroke] among heavy consumers, with the ultimate goal of switching to water or other healthy drinks."
