Effects of sweeteners and sweetness enhancers on adults living with obesity

A new study published in eBiomedicine evaluates the acute and repeated effects of sweeteners and sweetness enhancers (S&SE) versus sucrose formulations on appetite and endocrine response in adults with obesity.

In the fight to reduce the increasing burden of obesity-related metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, reducing sugar consumption has become an important public health target.

Currently there is a lack of randomised controlled trials that examine specific S&SE on appetite and endocrine responses in solid foods, particularly studying both acute and repeated consumption.

This latest research is particularly timely as use of S&SE received negative attention last year, including high profile publications linking S&SE consumption with impaired glycaemic response, toxicological damage to DNA and increased risk of heart attack and stroke.

Although these claims drew a lot of scepticism and debate from scientists, they were reported widely in the media and contribute to the confusion among the general public and especially people at risk of metabolic diseases, concerning the advantages of S&SE consumption to reduce sugar in the diet.

Funded by the Horizon 2020 programme, the randomised crossover trial studied 53 healthy adults (33 female, 20 male) with overweight/obesity in England and France consuming biscuits with fruit filling containing sucrose or reformulated with sweeteners.

The study concluded that biscuits reformulated to replace sugar using StRebM or Neotame showed no differences in appetite or endocrine responses, acutely or after a two-week exposure, but can reduce postprandial insulin and glucose response in adults with overweight or obesity.