Low-calorie sweetener use and energy balance: Results from experimental studies in animals, and large-scale prospective studies in humans

In the San Antonio Heart Study, participants in the highest quartile of artificially sweetened beverage intake experienced 78% greater gains in BMI than non-users over 7-8 years, and the risk of incid

Effect: decline; 78% greater gains in BMI in fourth quartile vs non-users

Among elderly adults in the San Antonio Longitudinal Study of Aging, daily or more frequent diet soda consumption was associated with waist circumference gains that were almost quadruple those of non-

Effect: decline; almost quadruple the waist circumference gains in daily users vs non-users

Across multiple large-scale, long-term prospective observational studies in humans, daily or more frequent consumption of diet sodas and other LCS-sweetened beverages was associated with significantly

Effect: decline; 14% increased hypertension; 23-53% increased metabolic syndrome; 38-68% increased diabetes; 30-43% increased cardiovascular events; 50% incre

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, incr

Effect: decline; saccharin-exposed rats had quadruple post-snack chow intake vs predictive group; 55% increase in visceral adipose mass with TFA+MSG+ASP vs TF

Animals exposed to LCS exhibited impaired glucose tolerance, decreased insulin sensitivity, elevated fasting glucose, hyperinsulinemia, and impaired GLP-1 release — effects that sometimes occurred eve

Effect: decline; fasting glucose levels 1.6-fold higher in ASP-exposed vs controls; 2.25- and 2.3-fold higher for males and females in ASP+MSG vs controls; in

In the Nurses' Health Study, weight gain showed a dose-response relationship with saccharin intake over 8 years: 54% higher in the highest intake group vs none from 1978-1980, and 34% higher from 1980

Effect: decline; 54% higher weight gain in highest saccharin intake vs none (1978-1980); 34% higher (1980-1984)

Among 66,118 French women in the E3N-EPIC cohort, consumption of more than 603 mL/week of artificially sweetened beverages was associated with a 68% increase in 14-year diabetes risk compared to non-u

Effect: decline; 68% increase in 14-year diabetes risk