this post was submitted on 27 Jun 2023
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WHO says sugar alternatives not effective for weight loss. I think this would also generally imply that they do not prevent weight gain. I think you likely just don't gain weight regardless of sweetener; like how I and most of my family don't gain weight regardless of what we eat. That is to say our habits and decisions don't allow for weight gain regardless of sweetener, not that we have some genetic thing processes sugar differently or anything so unlikely.
Though yes, I also disagree with that strawman argument, diet coke being a gateway pop or artificial sweeteners being gateway sugar seems a bit rediculous.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/15/health/who-sweeteners-weigh-loss-guideline-wellness/index.html
I think it's important to note that this was strictly an observational study that they explicitly describe as "conditional". They don't go into the how or why of it. It could be that it's a negligible change or that participants overindulge elsewhere because they cut it out of sweeteners or that the most at-risk use sugar alternatives or that they lose weight in the short term (mentioned in the article) before reaching their new maintained weight.
Honestly, I think the last part is very likely, or a mix of many of those. They say it doesn't have a long-term effect, although it can have a short-term effect. So if you decrease your calorie intake a little, you'll lose weight until your calorie output matches (less weight mean less effort to move).
So, it's not an end-all solution.
Yes, I read about this too recently, but this is not true for me. I actually gain weight easily so I count calories religiously. 1.5 liters of diet coke is around 4 calories, compared to 680 calories for regular coke. I mean just from that substitution it'll obviously prevent weight gain in my opinion.