People who consume 3 artificially sweetened beverages per day are twice as likely to be overweight

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.

Weight difference: 9-11 lbs for a woman, 10-13 lbs for a man

The body mass index (BMI) of those who consumed artificially-sweetened beverages was 1.5 to 1.8 units greater than those who did not consume artificially-sweetened beverages.

This difference is equivalent to 9-11 pounds in a woman of average height, and 10-13 pounds in a man of average height.

Subjects: 3682 adult residents of San Antonio, Texas

The study followed 3682 adult residents of San Antonio, Texas for seven to eight years later.

Conclusion: Artificial sweeteners might be increasing obesity

“These findings raise the question whether [artificial sweeteners] use might be fueling, rather than fighting‚ our escalating obesity epidemic,” the authors of the study concluded.

Comment: Artificial sweeteners

A recent study found that artificial sweeteners cause the brain to detach sweetness from calorie intake.

In other words, the brain figures out that the sweet taste associated with artificial sweeteners does not contain calories, so it ignores it when you eat something sweet and assumes it has no calories, and so does not reduce your appetite.

REFERENCE

P. Fowler S, Ken Williams G. Resendez R, J. Hunt K, P. Hazuda H, P. Stern M. Fueling the obesity epidemic? Artificially sweetened beverage use and long-term weight gain. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2008 Aug, 16(8):1894–900.

AUTHOR’S CONTACT INFORMATION

Sharon P. Fowler
Department of Medicine
Division of Clinical Epidemiology
The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas, USA
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