Many people worry that swapping sugar for low-calorie sweeteners could leave them craving sweeter foods or lead them to eat more later. But new research suggests that may not be the case. A review led by researchers from the University of Ljubljana, Wageningen University & Research and the University of Leeds found no evidence that replacing sugar with non-nutritive sweeteners harms weight management or cardiometabolic health.
Graham Finlayson, a psychologist at the University of Leeds, told Newsweek that findings from randomized controlled trials differ from some previous studies that have linked artificial sweeteners to poor health outcomes. However, this review found no evidence that sugar substitutes harm weight, health, or sweet taste preferences. ... The Studies Behind the Review The review brought together evidence from five studies conducted through the SWEET, SWITCH and Sweet Tooth research consortia: SWEET biscuit study (53 participants): Tested whether biscuits containing low-calorie sweeteners affected hunger, cravings and metabolism in adults with overweight or obesity.
SWEET beverage study (53 participants): Compared low-calorie sweetened drinks with sugary drinks to examine their effects on blood sugar, appetite and food intake. SWITCH study (493 participants): Compared low-calorie sweetened beverages with water during a year-long weight-loss program to assess effects on weight and appetite. Sweet Tooth study (180 participants): Examined whether eating diets with different levels of sweetness changed cravings, food choices, weight and health markers over time.
SWEET weight-maintenance study (341 participants): Investigated whether replacing sugar with low-calorie sweeteners helped people maintain weight loss and improve health markers after losing weight. Weight, Blood Sugar and Sweet Cravings Across the studies, replacing sugar with non-nutritive sweeteners did not appear to hinder weight loss or make people more likely to gain weight. In the SWEET trial, participants who included sweeteners in their diet maintained slightly more weight loss over a year than those who avoided them, while the SWITCH study found people drinking sweetened beverages lost more weight than those drinking water.
The Sweet Tooth trial, meanwhile, found that changing the overall sweetness of the diet had little effect on body weight or body composition. Researchers also found little difference between groups when it came to blood sugar control, insulin levels, blood pressure, cholesterol and other markers of heart and metabolic health. Some short-term studies suggested sweeteners may help reduce post-meal spikes in blood sugar and insulin when used instead of sugar.
Although one study detected small changes in gut bacteria, these were not linked to worse health outcomes. The review also challenged the idea that low-calorie sweeteners encourage a "sweet tooth." Across the trials, sweetener use was not associated with greater hunger, stronger cravings or higher food intake. In fact, participants in the SWEET study who avoided sweeteners developed a stronger preference for sweet foods over time, while those who consumed sweeteners did not.
Finlayson told Newsweek : “One plausible explanation is that retaining sweetness while reducing sugar and calories makes a weight-management diet more satisfying and easier to adhere to over time. “The ongoing SWITCH analyses should allow us to test that explanation much more directly.” Why Do Some Studies Suggest Sweeteners Are Harmful? Previous research has linked some sugar substitutes to an increased risk of heart attack, stroke and changes to gut health , prompting ongoing debate over their safety.
However, Finlayson said different types of studies can produce different findings. He told Newsweek : “Specifically, observational studies have tended to find that people who consume more LNCS also have higher rates of cardiovascular disease, diabetes or obesity. “However, randomized controlled trials (like SWITCH, SWEET and Sweet Tooth), where we randomly determine who consumes the sweeteners and what they replace in the diet, generally do not show the same adverse pattern.” Observational studies can identify associations between factors, but they cannot prove that one causes the other.
Researchers note that people who already have obesity, diabetes or a higher risk of cardiovascular disease may be more likely to choose diet drinks or sugar-free products, making it difficult to separate cause from effect. Finlayson said: “Observational findings are useful for generating hypotheses that subsequently need testing. But our SWEET and SWITCH RCTs found no evidence of adverse effects on the cardiometabolic risk factors we measured and that is consistent with the broader randomized-trial evidence.” He also noted that low- and n o-calorie sweeteners cover a wide range of different compounds.
Some recent studies linking sweeteners to cardiovascular risks have focused specifically on the sugar alcohols erythritol and xylitol, which were not specifically examined in the SWEET or SWITCH trials. “We didn't isolate or set out to examine those specific sweeteners in SWEET or SWITCH so they don't provide direct evidence against those findings,” Finlayson said. The underlying studies were funded by the EU's Horizon 2020 program, the American Beverage Association, and a Dutch government-backed public-private partnership, alongside private-sector contributions.
Newsweek has reached out for comment. The paper was also supported by Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences Low- and No-Calorie Sweeteners Committee. Finlayson told Newsweek : "I don’t know the precise formal safeguards that were in place, but IAFNS had no role in directing the content or interpretation of the review.
The studies discussed in the paper had already been designed, conducted and, in large part, reported before IAFNS became involved. Their involvement related to the subsequent webinar series." Reference Čad, E. M., Appleton, K.
M., Blaak, E. E., Dakin, C., de Graaf, K., Finlayson, G., Forde, C. G., Halford, J.
C. G., Kjølbæk, L., Mars, M., Martinez, J. A., Navas-Carretero, S., Raben, A., Scott, C., & Harrold, J.
A. (2026). Effects of Non-Nutritive Sweeteners and Sweet Taste Exposure on Weight Management, Biomarkers of Health and Sweet Taste Preference—A Review of the Evidence from Recent European Consortia Studies. Nutrients , 18 (11), 1647. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu18111647 Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Kara Dolman and Emma Lee-Sang
Source: Newsweek
