Don’t use artificial sugar, commonly known as a sugar substitute for weight loss, says the World Health Organization. The global health body has also warned against using non-sugar sweeteners to reduce the risk of noncommunicable diseases.
According to the WHO, the long-term use of non-sugar sweeteners is not-effective and associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and mortality in adults.
Non-sugar sweeteners, commonly known as sugar substitutes, are low- or no-calorie alternatives to free sugars. Generally marketed as aiding weight loss or maintenance of healthy weight and are frequently recommended as a means of controlling blood glucose in individuals with diabetes.
“Replacing free sugars with NSS does not help with weight control in the long term. People need to consider other ways to reduce free sugar intakes such as consuming food with naturally occurring sugars, like fruit, or unsweetened food and beverages,” said WHO Director for Nutrition and Food Safety Francesco Branca.
In the guidelines released on Monday, May 15th, the WHO says a systematic review of the available evidence suggests that the use of NSS (Non-sugar sweeteners) does not confer any long-term benefit in reducing body fat in adults or children.
Health experts say a lot of people use these artificial sweeteners with the hope of reducing their calories and weight loss.
Explaining the recent WHO guidelines on non-sugar sweeteners, senior Diabetologist and Endocrinologist Dr Ambarish Mittal wrote on Twitter, “Artificial sugars do not help in losing weight in non-diabetic, so they are not good for a weight loss strategy.” He further added, “The adverse effects with long-term use have been reported as associations, not as clear cause and effect.”
The recent analysis done by the WHO included 283 studies, both randomised trials and observational studies.
The WHO further added the recommendation applies to all people except individuals with pre-existing diabetes and includes all synthetic and naturally occurring or modified non-nutritive sweeteners that are not classified as sugars found in manufactured food and beverages or sold on their own to be added to and beverages by consumers.
The study suggests that artificial sugars do not help the non-diabetic to lose weight, say health experts.
Acesulfame K, aspartame, advantame, cyclamates, neotame, saccharin, sucralose, stevia and stevia derivatives are a few examples of NSSs.
In 2015, the WHO released the sugar intake guidelines. Since then, the interest in the use of artificial sugar to reduce sugar intake increased worldwide. The WHO says, “Therefore, it was considered necessary to review the evidence systematically and issue guidance on non-sugar sweetners.”
High intake of sugars has been linked to overweight and obesity, which affects nearly 40% of the global adult population and millions of children, and, in turn, diet-related noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), which are the leading causes of death worldwide.
The Calorie Control Council, an international association representing the low- and reduced-calorie food and beverage industry strongly disagrees with the WHO recommendation. In a statement issued https://caloriecontrol.org/health-benefits-established-safety-of-low-and-no-calorie-sweeteners-supported-by-decades-of-experience/ CCC says, “We reaffirm the documented health benefits and longstanding safety of non-sugar sweeteners, also known as low- and no-calorie sweeteners, for consumption by all populations, including those living with non-communicable diseases such as obesity and diabetes.”
Low- and no-calorie sweeteners have been proven to assist in body weight and blood glucose management, promote oral health as well as facilitate the reduction of calorie and sugar intake, the CCC further added.
A large study published in the BMJ http://association between higher artificial sweetener consumption (especially aspartame, acesulfame potassium, and sucralose) and increased cardiovascular disease risk found a potential direct association between higher artificial sweetener consumption and increased cardiovascular disease risk.
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Mayank Bhagwat 