Sugar substitutes help you lose weight without increasing your risk of heart disease

A new study suggests that replacing sugar with low- or no-calorie sweeteners may help control weight after rapid weight loss without increasing the risk of diabetes or heart disease.

A one-year study, aptly named Project SWEET, found that consumption of sweeteners and sweetness enhancers (S&SE) correlated with increased dietary satisfaction, improved mood, decreased cravings for sweets, and decreased apparent preference for sweet foods among adults.

Despite the promising results, the findings contradict other studies on the health effects of sugar substitutes, and more research is needed.

Clarissa Dakin, co-author of the SWEET project and a PhD student in the Appetite Control and Energy Balance Research Group at the University of Leeds, UK, explained the key findings:

"This study was a large randomized controlled trial comparing how consuming or avoiding sweeteners and sugar substitutes as part of a low-sugar weight maintenance diet affects people's mood, food cravings, and satisfaction with their diet."

How do sweeteners affect weight loss?

Project SWEET involved a year-long trial to see if using sweeteners as part of a healthy, low-sugar diet could promote weight control after rapid weight loss.

Researchers recruited 341 overweight or obese adults and 38 overweight children from Denmark, Spain, Greece and the Netherlands.

During the first two months of the study, adults followed a low-calorie diet with the goal of losing at least 5% of their weight, while children were encouraged to maintain their weight.

For the next 10 months, participants were divided into two groups:

• Group A: Subjects followed a healthy diet with less than 10% of calories from added sugar and were allowed to consume foods and beverages with sweeteners.
• Group B: Subjects followed the same healthy diet but without sweeteners.

Throughout the study, participants completed questionnaires about their diet, eating habits, physical activity and quality of life.

Their weight, body parameters, and markers of diabetes and cardiovascular disease were also measured at baseline and after 2, 6, and 12 months.

"Six months into the study, we found that the group that included sweeteners and sugar substitutes had greater dietary satisfaction, more positive moods, and fewer cravings for sugary foods," Dakin explained.

"Whereas after 12 months, the group that avoided sweeteners and sugar substitutes showed an increased liking for calorically sweet foods," Dakin noted.

The group that used sweeteners maintained their weight slightly better after one year than the group that did not use sweeteners.

In addition, the researchers found no significant differences in markers of diabetes and cardiovascular disease between the two groups.

However, more studies involving more children will be needed to determine the effects of sweeteners on younger people.

Should you use sugar substitutes for weight loss?

Natural and artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, stevia and saccharin are widely used in the food and beverage industry to reduce sugar content and are present in various products such as soft drinks, desserts and breakfast foods.

Sweeteners are consumed daily by millions of people around the world, especially those looking for low-calorie alternatives to regular sugar.

Many experts suggest replacing sugar with low- or no-calorie sweeteners to promote weight loss and weight management among overweight or obese adults.

However, controversy continues about the health safety of sweeteners and their effects on appetite, weight control, and obesity.

The present study suggests that including sweeteners in a healthy, low-sugar diet may help with weight control without increasing the risk of diabetes and heart disease, contradicting other research in this area.

Conversely, a systematic review, conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO), suggests that replacing sugar with sweeteners may not effectively promote long-term weight control and could potentially increase the risk of various health problems, including diabetes and heart disease.

However, the WHO report recognizes the lack of evidence linking sweeteners to disease outcomes and more research is needed.

Moreover, the WHO recently declared the common artificial sweetener aspartame a potential carcinogen for humans, but says further research is needed on the potential cancer risk in humans.