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Dr. John Fernstrom Weighs in Purdue Opinion Piece on Low-Calorie Sweeteners

(JULY 11, 2013) In response to the opinion piece “Artificial sweeteners produce the counterintuitive effect of inducing metabolic derangements,” (Swithers, S. E. (2013). Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism), Dr. John Fernstrom, Professor of Psychiatry and Pharmacology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, had the following to say:

“Dr. Swithers has focused primarily on epidemiological studies, which can suggest associations, but do not show cause and effect. Hence, if overweight or diabetic individuals report consuming more products containing artificial sweeteners, it may be that these products are being consumed to reduce sugar and calorie intake (a good thing), and not the other way around. Intervention studies are needed to prove which possibility is true. She largely fails to point out that many intervention studies have been conducted over the past few decades, and uniformly show that when artificial sweeteners are introduced into the diet (usually in a “blinded” fashion, so the subjects don’t know it), fewer sugars and calories are ingested, and body fat content and body weight are reduced. So, artificial sweeteners by themselves do not make people fat (or diabetic).”

“To scientists, such findings also reinforce the idea that humans do not sense energy intake perfectly, and thus not only can gain weight when more is eaten (the usual problem), but also lose weight when the caloric content of the diet is reduced (e.g., by using artificial sweeteners). Too little has been made of this latter finding, which may yet prove helpful in developing successful strategies for losing weight and preventing weight gain.”

 

faq2Do you have questions about low-calorie sweeteners? Want to learn more about maintaining a healthy lifestyle? You asked and we listened. Our resident Registered Dietitians answered the most popular questions about low-calorie sweeteners.

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