People who consumed more than twenty-one (21) artificially-sweetened beverages per week—which is 3 or more per day—were twice as likely to be obese after 7-8 years compared to people who consumed no artificially-sweetened beverages according to a recent study from researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, Texas, USA.

People who started out normal weight (1250 people), and consumed at least three artificially-sweetened beverages per day—more than 21 per week—were 1.9 times more likely to be overweight or obese after 7-8 years than those who consumed no artificially-sweetened beverages according to a study by researchers from The University of Texas at San Antonio, Texas, USA.

Those who started out either normal weight or overweight (2571 people), were twice as likely to be obese by the end of the study.

“Another recent study, in humans [ by Frank et al, 2008 ], revealed that sugar is more potent than low-calorie sweeteners in stimulating brain areas related to expectation and satisfaction, thereby turning off the desire for more sweetness,” notes noted Tracy Hampton in an article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

“We thought that sugar and artificial sweeteners, which both activate sweet receptors in the tongue, would both activate the same pathways in the brain,” said principal investigator Walter Kaye, MD, of the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Psychiatry, Hampton quotes in her article. “They turned out to not be the same,” [ Dr. Kaye ] added.

Rats that were first fed artificial sweeteners, then later switched to food sweetened with sugar, did not reduce their calorie intake whereas rats feed food sweetened with sugar from the beginning according to an article by Susan Swithers, PhD from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana as noted by Tracy Hampton in an article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

“Scientists agree that while intensely sweet low-calorie sugar substitutes help lower the energy density of beverages and foods [ that is, fewer calories for a given quantity of food ] , these products also uncouple sweetness and energy, which may disrupt the body’s ability to accurately assess caloric intake,” Tracy Hampton notes in an article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Artifically-sweetened drinks may increase calorie intake and lead to weight gain according to a recent study.

People consuming an artificially-sweetened drink during exercise ate 160-190 more calories at lunch compared to when they drank just plain water or a sucrose-sweetened drink.

People ate 11% more fat while substituting artificial sweeteners for sugar according to one study.

Another study concluded that the use of artificial sweeteners can be expected to increase fat and protein intake, while decreasing carbohydrate intake.

Researchers tend to agree that people consuming artificial sweeteners eat more later to make up for the calories they saved.

Overweight men and women gained an average of 3.5 pounds in two-and-a-half months drinking sugar-sweetened soda compared to an average weight loss of 2.2 pounds for those drinking artificially-sweetened sodas according to a recent study. This is a difference of 5.7 pounds between the groups

Splenda, the artificial sweetener containing sucralose, reduces good bacteria in the gut according to a rat study done by researchers from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, USA.

Hobbs: Good bacteria in the gut are very beneficial and necessary for good health.

“Evidence indicates that a [3 month] administration of Splenda exerted numerous adverse effects,” the researchers concluded.

The one-third of people consuming the most diet soda were 34 percent more likely to have metabolic syndrome than the one-third of people consuming the least according to a study from researchers at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.

The number of Americans who consume products containing sugar-free sweeteners increased from 70 million in 1987 to 160 million in 2000 according to the Calorie Councilas noted in an article by Tracy Hampton published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. During this time, obesity increased from approximately 15 percent to 30 percent the article also notes.

“[R]ats given yogurt sweetened with zero-calorie saccharin later consumed more calories, gained more weight, put on more body fat, and didn’t make up for it by cutting back later,” noted a summary of a study by researchers at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana USA.

Saccharin does not increase the risk of bladder cancer as was once believed in the 1970’s. This according to a 1998 study from the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, USA.

The last couple of weeks I had a dull headache—I never get headaches—diarrhea at times, and just felt tired. I could not figure out what it was.

Saccharin consumption may be associated with weight gain according to a recent study.

Yes, NutraSweet (aspartame) was found to increase weight loss and be surprisingly effective for weight maintenance according to a recent study.

People who drink either sodas or diet sodas are more likely to be overweight than people who do not according to data collected over 8 years and reported at the annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association in San Diego, California.

Girls underreport the amount of calories they consume by an average of 12 percent at the age of 10-years-old, by 23 percent at the age of 12-years-old, and by 32 percent at the age of 15-years-old according to a recent study by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.