Well, well...isn't this interesting! A new study published in the journal Appetite demonstrates that low-calorie sweeteners provide the same feeling of fullness as sugar. The research, which was conducted by the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, found that people who consume stevia or aspartame rather than sugar do not compensate by eating more at either lunch or dinner. Further, they reported similar levels of satiety compared to when they consumed the higher-calorie sucrose.
Scientists tested the effect of preloads containing stevia, aspartame or sucrose on food intake, satiety and postprandial glucose and insulin levels in both healthy and overweight adults, all between the ages of 18 and 50. Participants were given a pre-meal containing either sucrose, aspartame or stevia. Hunger and satiety levels were reported before and after meals, and every hour throughout the afternoon.
Despite the caloric difference in preloads, participants did not compensate by eating more at their lunch and dinner meals when they consumed either stevia or aspartame versus sucrose in preloads. Those who had the stevia preload consumed an average of 301 fewer calories than sucrose, and those who had the aspartame preload consumed a mean of 330 fewer calories than sucrose. Self-reported hunger and satiety levels also did not differ between the groups.
So what does all of this mean? It means that low-calorie sweeteners do NOT increase hunger levels or cause people to eat more food. In fact, substituting sugar with low-calorie sweeteners is a good weight-management strategy.
Now that we've cleared up that issue, excuse me while I go buy a Diet Coke from the vending machine!
