People who consumed artificial sweeteners “always or almost always” were 33% more likely to develop diabetes after adjusting for body mass index compared to people who consumed artificial sweeteners “never or rare” according to the E3N-European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition Study.

(The risk was 83% greater before adjusting for body mass index indicating that part of the increased risk was due to a person’s adiposity.)

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Women who consumed 2 or more diet drinks per day were 30% more likely to have a cardiovascular event, such as a heart attack or stroke, over the next 8.7 years compared to women who consumed few to none, 0-3 diet drinks per month, according to a recent study.

This was after controlling for other cardiovascular risk factors.

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Women who consumed 2 or more diet drinks per day were 50% more likely to die from cardiovascular disease over the next 8.7 years compared to women who consumed few to none, 0-3 diet drinks per month, according to a recent study.

This was after controlling for other cardiovascular risk factors.

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Women who consumed 2 or more diet drinks per day were 30% more likely to die from all causes over the next 8.7 years compared to women who consumed few to none, 0-3 diet drinks per month, according to a recent study.

This was after controlling for other cardiovascular risk factors.

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People who consumed artificially-sweetened beverages were 3-times more likely to have an ischemic stroke over the next ten (10) years compare to people who drank no artificially-sweetened beverages according to a study which followed 2888 people age greater than 45 years

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People who consumed artificially-sweetened beverages were 2.9-times more likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease over the next ten (10) years compare to people who drank no artificially-sweetened beverages according to a study which followed 2888 people aged 45 years and older.

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Women who consumed two (2) or more servings of artificially sweetened beverages per day were 21% more likely to develop diabetes during an average follow-up of 8.4 years compared to women who consumed less than three (3) servings per month according to the Women’s Health Initiative study.

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Women who consumed artificially-sweetened beverages daily during pregnancy were 2.2 times more likely to have an overweight baby when the baby reached one-year compared to women who consumed no artificially sweetened beverages.

“These effects were not explained by maternal [body mass index], diet quality, total energy intake, or other obesity risk factors,” the authors of the study note.

They also noted that, “There were no comparable associations for sugar-sweetened beverages.”

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Men and women who consumed one or more diet soda per day were 1.4-times more likely to get leukemia than men who did not consume diet soda according to a recent analysis.

Men were part of the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study.

Women were part of the Nurses’ Health Study.

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Men from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study who consumed one or more diet soda per day were 1.3-times more likely to get non-Hodgkin lymphomas than men who did not consume diet soda according to a recent analysis.

They did not find a significant increase in women consuming diet sodas.

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Men from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study who consumed one or more diet soda per day were 2.0-times more likely to get multiple myeloma than men who did not consume diet soda according to a recent analysis.

They did not find a significant increase in women consuming diet sodas.

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"The most-popular strategies employed by obese participants who reported trying to lose weight were eating less, exercising more, eating less fat, and switching to lower-calorie foods," notes a new paper about obese adults who were participants in the 2001–2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

"In contrast, only a small proportion used commercial weight loss programs, liquid diets, and prescription weight loss medicines.

"Liquid diets, nonprescription diet pills, and popular diets showed no association with successful weight loss, and those who reported losing 10% body weight [or more] were less likely to report eating diet foods/products, compared with those who did not lose 10%." Read the entire article | Email this article

"The most-popular strategies employed by obese participants who reported trying to lose weight were eating less, exercising more, eating less fat, and switching to lower-calorie foods," notes a new paper about obese adults who were participants in the 2001–2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

"In contrast, only a small proportion used commercial weight loss programs, liquid diets, and prescription weight loss medicines.

"Liquid diets, nonprescription diet pills, and popular diets showed no association with successful weight loss, and those who reported losing 10% body weight [or more] were less likely to report eating diet foods/products, compared with those who did not lose 10%." Read the entire article | Email this article

"Liquid diets, nonprescription diet pills, and popular diets showed no association with successful weight loss, and those who reported losing 10% body weight [or more] were less likely to report eating diet foods/products, compared with those who did not lose 10%," notes a new paper about obese adults who were participants in the 2001–2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

"The most-popular strategies employed by obese participants who reported trying to lose weight were eating less, exercising more, eating less fat, and switching to lower-calorie foods."

"In contrast, only a small proportion used commercial weight loss programs, liquid diets, and prescription weight loss medicines."
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Obese US adults who lost 10% or more of their body weight during the previous year were 52% less likely -- only half as likely -- to eat diet foods or diet products than obese adults who were trying to lose weight but lost less than this according to data from obese adults who were participants in the 2001–2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Read the entire article | Email this article

Obese US adults who ate diet foods and diet products were only half as likely -- 52% less likely -- to lose 10% or more of their body weight during the previous year than obese adults who lost 10% or more during the previous year according to data from obese adults who were participants in the 2001–2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

(Note: This is the same information as the previous article, but just stated in a different way.) Read the entire article | Email this article

People who started out normal weight (1250 people), and consumed at least three artificially-sweetened beverages per day -- more than 21 per week -- were 1.9 times more likely to be overweight or obese after 7-8 years than those who consumed no artificially-sweetened beverages according to a study by researchers from The University of Texas at San Antonio, Texas, USA.

Those who started out either normal weight or overweight (2571 people), were twice as likely to be obese by the end of the study. Read the entire article | Email this article

"Another recent study, in humans [ by Frank et al, 2008 ], revealed that sugar is more potent than low-calorie sweeteners in stimulating brain areas related to expectation and satisfaction, thereby turning off the desire for more sweetness," notes noted Tracy Hampton in an article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

"We thought that sugar and artificial sweeteners, which both activate sweet receptors in the tongue, would both activate the same pathways in the brain," said principal investigator Walter Kaye, MD, of the University of Pittsburgh's Department of Psychiatry, Hampton quotes in her article. "They turned out to not be the same," [ Dr. Kaye ] added.

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Rats that were first fed artificial sweeteners, then later switched to food sweetened with sugar, did not reduce their calorie intake whereas rats feed food sweetened with sugar from the beginning according to an article by Susan Swithers, PhD from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana as noted by Tracy Hampton in an article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Read the entire article | Email this article

"Scientists agree that while intensely sweet low-calorie sugar substitutes help lower the energy density of beverages and foods [ that is, fewer calories for a given quantity of food ] , these products also uncouple sweetness and energy, which may disrupt the body's ability to accurately assess caloric intake," Tracy Hampton notes in an article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Read the entire article | Email this article

Artifically-sweetened drinks may increase calorie intake and lead to weight gain according to a recent study.

People consuming an artificially-sweetened drink during exercise ate 160-190 more calories at lunch compared to when they drank just plain water or a sucrose-sweetened drink.
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People ate 11% more fat while substituting artificial sweeteners for sugar according to one study.

Another study concluded that the use of artificial sweeteners can be expected to increase fat and protein intake, while decreasing carbohydrate intake.

Researchers tend to agree that people consuming artificial sweeteners eat more later to make up for the calories they saved. Read the entire article | Email this article

Overweight men and women gained an average of 3.5 pounds in two-and-a-half months drinking sugar-sweetened soda compared to an average weight loss of 2.2 pounds for those drinking artificially-sweetened sodas according to a recent study. This is a difference of 5.7 pounds between the groups Read the entire article | Email this article

The one-third of people consuming the most diet soda were 34 percent more likely to have metabolic syndrome than the one-third of people consuming the least according to a study from researchers at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. Read the entire article | Email this article

The number of Americans who consume products containing sugar-free sweeteners increased from 70 million in 1987 to 160 million in 2000 according to the Calorie Councilas noted in an article by Tracy Hampton published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. During this time, obesity increased from approximately 15 percent to 30 percent the article also notes. Read the entire article | Email this article

"[R]ats given yogurt sweetened with zero-calorie saccharin later consumed more calories, gained more weight, put on more body fat, and didn't make up for it by cutting back later," noted a summary of a study by researchers at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana USA. Read the entire article | Email this article

Saccharin does not increase the risk of bladder cancer as was once believed in the 1970's. This according to a 1998 study from the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
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Saccharin consumption may be associated with weight gain according to a recent study. Read the entire article | Email this article

Yes, NutraSweet (aspartame) was found to increase weight loss and be surprisingly effective for weight maintenance according to a recent study. Read the entire article | Email this article

People who drink either sodas or diet sodas are more likely to be overweight than people who do not according to data collected over 8 years and reported at the annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association in San Diego, California. Read the entire article | Email this article