While fans of diet soda might not want to hear this, it turns out that the seemingly healthier bubbly beverages might be doing more harm than good
Artificial sweeteners remain controversial due to the fact that "the health consequences of artificial sweeteners or nonnutritive sweetener (NNS) are still highly debated,
say the authors of a new study, published in JAMA Network Open. That's rather significant when you consider the fact that over 40% of American adults
In the study, researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of USC took a look at 74 participants who, after not eating the night before
were given drinks that contained either table sugar or an artificial sweetener. The researchers then monitored participants for brain activity
related to cravings for high-calorie items while also noting the amount of food participants ate later in the day.
What they found was that both women and obese participants were left hungrier after drinking artificial sweeteners.
"Our study starts to provide context for the mixed results from previous studies when it comes to the neural and behavioral effects of artificial sweeteners,"
Kathleen Page, MD, the corresponding author of the study and an associate professor of medicine at the Keck School of Medicine
Page added that, by examining different groups within the participants, they "were able to show that females and people with obesity may be more sensitive to artificial sweeteners.