Low- and No-Calorie Sweeteners:
Impact on Appetite, Food Intake, Body Weight and Diet Quality

Low- and no-calorie sweeteners like aspartame, rebiana (from stevia) and sucralose provide a sweet taste without significant calories and are widely available alternatives to caloric sweeteners. With a large body of evidence confirming their safety and potential benefit in aiding weight management, low- and no-calorie sweeteners should be a good option for many people. Yet according to a review by Popkin and Mattes, only about 15 percent of the U.S. population over the age of 2 consumes foods and beverages made with these sweeteners.

Taste and unwillingness to give up favorite foods and beverages are two reasons people give for not choosing products with low- and no-calorie sweeteners – although products like Coca-Cola Zero™, which uses a blend of low- and no-calorie sweeteners are making low-calorie options more appealing to some consumers. Another reason given is safety concerns, often fueled by inaccurate information found on the internet.

An extensive body of research confirms that low- and no-calorie sweeteners do not increase appetite, food intake or desire for sweet tastes, and when foods and beverages sweetened with low- and no-calorie sweeteners are consistently used as substitutes for higher-calorie options, they have the potential to support weight management.

  • A 2010 study on the effects of stevia, aspartame, and sucrose on food intake, satiety, and postprandial glucose and insulin levels by Anton et al concluded that low- and no-calorie sweeteners do not increase hunger levels or cause people to eat more food. The subjects who received the stevia or aspartame consumed significantly fewer calories, but despite having fewer calories overall reported no difference in hunger levels.
  • A 2010 study of participants in the Weight Control Registry showed regular use of foods and beverages sweetened with low- and no-calorie sweeteners is common strategy used by people who have had long-term success maintaining a significant weight loss.
  • A 2009 review of 224 studies on the effects of low- and no-calorie sweeteners on appetite, food intake and weight by Mattes and Popkin found that, although short-term trials provide mixed evidence of reduced energy intake with low- and no-calorie sweetener use, “longer-term trials – arguably the more nutritionally relevant studies – consistently indicate that the use of low- and no-calorie sweeteners result in slightly lower energy intakes.” The study also noted that “reverse causality remains a likely explanation” for at least a portion of recent epidemiological findings linking low- and no-calorie sweetener use to weight gain, and that “taken together, the evidence summarized by us and others suggests that if non-nutritive sweeteners are used as substitutes for higher-energy-yielding sweeteners, they have the potential to aid in weight management.”
    [Note: “Non-nutritive sweeteners” is an alternative term used by nutritionists to describe low- and no-calorie sweeteners.]
  • A 2009 evidence-based review of the literature on aspartame by the American Dietetic Association found strong (grade 1) evidence that aspartame does not increase appetite or food intake.
  • A 2007 review evaluating a variety of laboratory, clinical and epidemiological studies on low- and no-calorie sweeteners, energy density and satiety by Bellisle and Drewnowski concluded: “Although they are not magic bullets, low- and no-calorie sweeteners in beverages and foods can help people reduce their calorie (energy) intakes.”
  • A 2005 study using national dietary survey data to compare the overall diet quality of low-calorie, sugar-free food and beverage users to that of nonusers by Sigman-Grant found that people who regularly use low- and no-calorie sweeteners may choose healthier diets. The results showed that the diets of low- and no-calorie sweetener users not only contained fewer calories, but also more vitamins and minerals and were of better nutritional quality overall.
  • A two-year randomized control trial on the impact of aspartame use on weight loss and weight-loss maintenance in obese subjects by Blackburn et al found that aspartame users regained less than half the amount of weight as non-users (control) at the two-year follow-up mark.

Although low- and no-calorie sweeteners can be beneficial in weight management, it is clear that their benefits depend on how people chose to use them. Those who use foods and beverages with low- and no-calorie sweeteners prudently, regularly using them in place of higher calorie options in their diet, could find them helpful in keeping calories under control. However, they clearly will not prevent weight gain in people who use them to rationalize over-consumption of high-calorie foods and beverages, or make little effort to otherwise to keep their energy intake in line with their body's energy needs and their level of physical activity.

Related References

American Dietetic Association Evidence Analysis Library on Non-Nutritive Sweeteners
A systematic review of the literature on low- and no-calorie sweeteners.
www.adaevidencelibrary.com

Early Patterns Of Food Intake In An Adolescent Weight Loss Trial As Predictors of BMI Change. Hart CN, et.al. Eating Behaviors (2010), doi: 10.1016/j.eatbeh.2010.05.001

Use of artificial sweeteners and fat-modified foods in weight loss maintainers and always-normal weight individuals. S. Phelan, et. al. International Journal of Obesity 2009; 33(10):1183-1190.

Effects of stevia, aspartame, and sucrose on food intake, satiety, and postprandial glucose and insulin levels. Anton, S et al. Appetite. advance online publication March 2010; doi:10.1016/j.appet.2010.03.009

Nonnutritive sweetener consumption in humans: effects on appetite and food intake and their putative mechanisms. Mattes R and Popkin B. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2009; 89:1-14.
http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/reprint/89/1/1

Intense sweeteners, energy intake and the control of body weight. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Bellisle F and Drewnowski A.2007; 61: 691-700.

Reported use of reduced sugars foods and beverages reflect high quality diets. Journal of Food Science. Sigman-Grant M, and Hsieh G. 2005; 70(1), S42-S46.

Aspartame: a safety evaluation based on current use levels, regulations, and toxicological and epidemiological studies. Magnuson BA, Burdock GA, Doull J, Kroes RM, Marsh GM, Pariza MW, Spencer PS, Waddell WJ, Walker R, Williams GM. Critical Reviews in Toxicology, 2007; 37:629-727.

Small Changes in Dietary Sugar and Physical Activity as an Approach to Preventing Excessive Excessive Weight Gain: The America on the Move Family Study. Rodearmel S. et. al. Pediatrics. 2007; 120: 4.

Comparison of grocery purchase patterns of diet soda buyers to those of regular soda buyers. Binkley J. Appetite. 2007; 49(3):561-571.

A review of the effectiveness of aspartame in helping with weight control. de la Hunty A, et. al. Nutrition Bulletin 2006; 31:115-128.

The effect of aspartame as part of a multidisciplinary weight-control program on short- and long term control of body weight. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Blackburn GL, Kanders BS, Lavin PT, Keller SD, and Whatley J. 1997; 65, 409-418.

Comparing the effects of aspartame and sucrose on motivational ratings, taste preferences, and energy intakes in humans. Drewnowski A, Massien C, Louis-Sylvestre J, Fricker J, Chapelot D, and Apfelbaum M. Am J Clin Nutr. 1994;59: 338-345.

Soft drinks with aspartame: effect on subjective hunger, food selection, and food intake of young adult males. Black R M, Tanaka P, Leiter LA, and Anderson GH. Physiol Behav. 1991; 49: 803-810.

Effects of aspartame and sucrose on hunger and energy intake in humans. Mattes, R. Physiol Behav. 1990; 47, 1037-1044.