IN PRACTICE:
“Our findings suggest that the inclusion of low/no energy-sweetened products may benefit children who show high levels of uncontrolled eating,” said the study’s co-lead author, Clarissa Dakin, of the Appetite Control and Energy Balance Research Group at the University of Leeds, Leeds, England, in a press statement.
“Together, these findings provide important insights for the ongoing reevaluation of food additive sweeteners by the European Food Safety Authority and other health agencies worldwide,” she said.
Coauthor Jason Halford, head of the School of Psychology at the University of Leeds, added in the press statement that “the use of low-calorie sweeteners in weight management has been questioned, in part because of the link between their use and apparent weight gain in observational studies.”
“However, increasingly, it is becoming apparent that is not the case in long-term studies,” said a study co-author in a press statement.”
SOURCE:
The findings from the two abstracts will be presented in May at the European Association for the Study of Obesity. The study abstracts were issued in advance.
LIMITATIONS:
Some of the results, particularly in children’s subgroups, were limited by the relatively low number of children, underscoring the need for future studies on the issue, the authors noted.
DISCLOSURES:
Dr. Halford has received research funding from the American Beverage Association.
A version of this article appeared on Medscape.com.