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Finding
Finding
decline
Animals chronically exposed to any of a range of LCSs — saccharin, sucralose, AceK, aspartame, or erythritol + aspartame — exhibited increased food consumption, lower post-prandial thermogenesis, increased weight gain, and greater percent body fat, compared with animals exposed to plain water or calorically-sweetened foods.
| Effect size | saccharin-exposed rats had quadruple post-snack chow intake vs predictive group; 55% increase in visceral adipose mass with TFA+MSG+ASP vs TFA alone |
| Comparator | Animals exposed to plain water or calorically-sweetened foods/liquids (glucose- or sucrose-sweetened yogurt/liquids) |
| Effect summary | decline; saccharin-exposed rats had quadruple post-snack chow intake vs predictive group; 55% increase in visceral adipose mass with TFA+MSG+ASP vs TFA alone |
| Effect modifiers | [{"modifier": "Sex", "interaction_p": "", "direction": "amplifies", "stratum_details": "Males showed greater LCS-related weight gain than females", "plain_language": "Male animals were more affected by artificial sweeteners than females", "annotation_notes": "Swithers, Davidson et al. reported greater LCS-related weight gain in males than females [19]"}, {"modifier": "Genetic predisposition to obesity", "interaction_p": "", "direction": "amplifies", "stratum_details": "Inbred obesity-prone females showed substantial body-weight gains on saccharin vs glucose yogurt; obesity-resistant females did not show corresponding differences (though fat mass was higher in all saccharin-exposed females)", "plain_language": "Animals genetically prone to obesity were hit harder by artificial sweeteners", "annotation_notes": "From Swithers et al. [19]"}, {"modifier": "Diet composition (high-fat/high-sugar/Western diet)", "interaction_p": "", "direction": "amplifies", "stratum_details": "Saccharin exposure caused substantial weight gain in females with diet-induced obesity on high-fat/high-sugar diet, but not in females on regular low-fat chow or diet-restricted animals", "plain_language": "Artificial sweeteners caused more weight gain when combined with an unhealthy high-fat, high-sugar diet", "annotation_notes": "Key finding: LCS impact was pronounced in animals on high-energy/Western diets and diminished in diet-restricted animals"}, {"modifier": "Dietary restriction", "interaction_p": "", "direction": "attenuates", "stratum_details": "Adverse impacts of LCS appeared diminished in animals on dietary restriction", "plain_language": "Being on a calorie-restricted diet seemed to protect against the harmful effects of artificial sweeteners", "annotation_notes": "This has implications for interpreting RCTs that prescribe dietary restriction alongside LCS use"}, {"modifier": "Pre-existing obesity (diet-induced)", "interaction_p": "", "direction": "amplifies", "stratum_details": "Impacts were pronounced in animals with diet-induced obesity", "plain_language": "Animals that were already overweight were more harmed by artificial sweeteners", "annotation_notes": "Ironic: those most likely to use LCS for weight control fared worst"}] |
Connected entities
Conditions
Outcomes
Source
PMC5045440
Low-calorie sweetener use and energy balance: Results from experimental studies in animals, and large-scale prospective studies in humans