The Effect of Non-Nutritive Sweeteners' Consumption on Body Weight: A Randomized-Controlled Trial

Abstract

For several decades, non-nutritive sweeteners (NNS) have been used as alternatives to sugar for caloric control, but their metabolic effects remain unclear. In the literature, they were blamed to contribute to several conditions, including obesity. While their effect on body weight has been investigated in numerous studies, the results have been inconsistent. Our study aims to investigate the effect of NNS consumption on body weight, and whether the results vary among different types of sweeteners. A randomized-controlled trial was conducted on a final number of 20 healthy participants over a period of 6 weeks, with an initial screening session and two follow-up sessions. Anthropometric measurements were taken at each visit. While NNS consumers were randomly assigned to the sucralose (0.507 mg/kg; n = 7) or stevia group (0.375 mg/kg; n = 6), non-consumers were allocated to the control group (no sweeteners; n = 7); all were given an isocaloric diet and were counseled to follow a healthy lifestyle. Our results showed that weight and body mass index significantly decreased among controls (pweight = 0.026; pbody mass index = 0.02) and sucralose (pweight = 0.028; pbody mass index = 0.017), but not among stevia consumers (pweight = 0.183; pbody mass index = 0.138). No significant difference was found between groups where no group had a benefit over the other in terms of weight loss. Moreover, no favorable effect of one sweetener was reported over the other. In our population, sucralose and stevia consumption contributed to weight loss that reached significance among sucralose consumers, and could therefore be considered safe for weight management when used as a part of a healthy lifestyle.