Artificial sweeteners, weight gain study

[meema]

There's been some study recently that claimed that people who used artificial sweeteners generally gained more weight than people who used real sugar. I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on 1) whether or not there's some actual truth to that, and 2) why that might be. I'm not a big fan of sugar, real or fake, although I do drink occasional diet sodas. I'm starting to suspect I should cut out the sodas completely, too.

[maxlharris]

One possible explanation I've seen is that folks think saving 200 calories on a beverage is license to eat 500 more calories. Another good explanation was offered by Dr. Mike. You taste sweet (or even anticipate) and it raises insulin.

Lastly, just because it's zero calorie doesn't mean that it's a weight loss aid. We probably don't have a good understanding of the hormonal response to novel sweeteners (I would group aspartame, sucralose, stevia, cyclamates, aceK, and even saccharine).

Final caveat: a study on the population at large generally factors for people who are on all types of diets. It might be that in a low carb diet, it's not an issue.

[Mitra]

Dr Briffa blogged about it: More Evidence that Artificial Sweeteners don't Help Weight Loss (http://www.drbriffa.com/blog/2008/02/11/more-evidence-that-artificial-sweeteners-don%e2%80%99t-help-weight-loss/). It was also reported in the New Scientist (Sweetener May be Worse for Dieters than Sugar (http://www.newscientist.com/channel/health/mg19726435.500-sweetener-may-be-worse-for-dieters-than-sugar.html). They suggest it confuses our mechanisms for judging how much food we've had:
Swithers and Davidson conclude that animals, including humans, use cues like sweetness to predict satiation. When the relationship between sweetness and calories is consistent, they unconsciously use it to regulate intake; when it's inconsistent, they can't. "We're taking away an unconscious, automatic process," says Swithers.

[bluejay111]

When the news was hyping the diet soda controversy they showed a man drinking diet soda while he was eating a large order of fries and what looked like a large roast beef on a bun. What do you think caused the weight gain?
I tend to agree with max. On low carb it may not be an issue.

[laughingW]

I think Dr. Mike is right, that the taste of sweet starts a hormonal cascade that can stall things in some people. I know that in a low-carb forum, a substantial number of people swear that Crystal Lite and diet drinks stall them.

It doesn't have to be a problem for everyone to be a problem for some of us. I agree with Max (don't faint Max) that not only do we not understand all the hormonal workings, but we don't understand individual variation either.

[maxlharris]

It doesn't have to be a problem for everyone to be a problem for some of us. I agree with Max (don't faint Max) that not only do we not understand all the hormonal workings, but we don't understand individual variation either.
It's been known to happen before. Not often, but sometimes.