Health aNd Fitness Guide

Artificial sweeteners may not help lose weight. Consuming food sweetened with no-calorie saccharin can lead to more weight gain and adiposity than consuming the same food sweetened with higher calorie sugar, according to researchers at the University of Purdue, USA. A study on rats fed on artificially sweetened food showed that they ate more food and gained more weight compared to rats fed on food sweetened with normal sugar. Researchers say that the body is confused when a sweet taste is not followed by a heavy-calorie food, leading the rats on artificially sweetened diet to crave for more food. The results of the study are yet to be translated in humans.