Diet Drinks May Make You Fatter

In order to reduce the impact of sugar on health and obesity, more and more people are starting to consume artificial sweeteners instead of normal sugars. These artificial sweeteners have the sweetness of sugar but do not produce calories and are considered more beneficial to health. , so it has gained popularity in recent years.

However, the health effects of artificial sweeteners remain highly controversial, and there is no clear consensus on their effects on appetite, glucose metabolism, and body weight.

Recently, in a research report published in the international journal "JAMA Network Open", scientists from the University of Southern California and other institutions found through research that beverages containing the artificial sweetener sucralose may increase women's and women's health. Food cravings and appetites in obese people. This study is one of the largest to date to analyze artificial sweeteners (NNS, non-nutritive sweeteners) on brain activity and appetite responses in different populations.

Over 40% of adults in the U.S. use NNS as a calorie-free way to satisfy a sweet tooth, and in some cases it often helps people achieve weight loss goals. Despite the prevalence of artificial sweeteners, their health effects are still highly controversial, and there is currently no clear consensus on their effects on appetite, glucose metabolism, and body weight.

Researcher Katherine Page, Ph.D., pointed out that although some studies have shown that the use of artificial sweeteners may have some benefits, other studies have found that artificial sweeteners may lead to weight gain, type 2 diabetes and other metabolic diseases. .

To study the effects of NNS, Page and colleagues studied 74 participants who had 300 milliliters of a sucrose (table sugar)-containing beverage during 3 different follow-up visits and were given a NNS sucralose-based beverages or water served as controls.

Over the next two hours, the researchers analyzed three parameters, which they used fMRI imaging to analyze in the brains responsible for appetite and food when participants responded to pictures of high-calorie foods such as hamburgers and doughnuts Which areas of cravings were activated, blood levels of glucose, insulin and other metabolic hormones, and the amount of food consumed in the self-service snacks provided by the researchers at the end of each "short session." The study group consisted of equal numbers of men and women divided into healthy-weight, overweight, or obese groups, helping researchers analyze potential differences between groups.

Imaging findings showed that sucralose-containing beverages in women and obese people increased activity in areas of the brain responsible for food cravings and appetites, compared with beverages containing real sugar. In addition, the levels of hormones that tell me "I feel full" decreased across the board when participants ingested sucralose-containing beverages compared to sucralose-containing beverages, suggesting that artificial sweeteners Drinks may not be effective in suppressing hunger in the body.

Finally, female participants ate more at self-service snack bars after consuming the sucralose-containing beverage, while male participants ate no more snacks. the difference.

By studying different groups, researchers found that women and obese people may be more sensitive to artificial sweeteners. For these groups, consuming beverages with artificial sweeteners may trick the brain into feeling hungry, causing the body to consume more calories.

The findings suggest that women and obese individuals may be particularly sensitive to different neural responses to sucralose-based beverages than sucralose-containing beverages. The study also serves as a reminder that the now-popular diet drinks with artificial sweeteners may not be a good choice for weight loss, and they may even increase appetite and lead to weight gain.