If you’re looking to lose weight, artificial sweeteners probably aren’t the move

Replacing sugar with artificial sweeteners like aspartame, stevia, saccharin, or sucralose does not help people lose weight in the long term, according to a World Health Organization advisory published yesterday that was based on a systematic review of a combined 283 scientific studies.

Or to put it in terms that Mary Poppins would understand: a spoonful of artificial sugar is not medicine to make the weight go down (in fact, it could actually raise the risk of health problems such as type 2 diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure, and heart disease).

📝 More details… The new WHO findings show artificial sweeteners found in products like diet sodas, chewing gum, yogurt, and other products that are advertised as “sugar-free” don't actually help achieve weight loss when compared to the regular versions containing sugar.

Instead, the agency recommends that people looking to lose weight should restrict their sugar intake to unsweetened food and beverages or natural sources, like fruits.

• The WHO’s new guidelines follow a 2019 scientific review by nonprofit research group Cochrane, which concluded there was no evidence for any health benefits of artificial sweeteners, while potential harms couldn’t be excluded.

✋ Yes, but: Some health experts have raised concerns with both the Cochrane and WHO reviews, saying the evidence analyzed by scientists isn’t robust enough to draw any conclusions.

• For example: a possible confounding factor is that people who eat and drink products containing artificial sweeteners have an increased risk for obesity or diabetes in the first place, and are using them to control their weight gain.

🤔 Zoom out: This isn’t the first time sugar/artificial sweeteners and weight loss have been linked together – much like childhood friends, they go wayyyyyyy back. In the 1970s, sugar was widely marketed to US consumers as a weight-loss aid.