Common Sugar Substitute May Promote Weight Gain

Investigators have discovered a possible mechanism explaining why use of the sugar substitute aspartame may not promote weight loss. In a new study, researchers found that aspartame blocks a gut enzyme called intestinal alkaline phosphatase. Previous research has shown that this enzyme can prevent obesity, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome. The study also found that mice receiving aspartame gained more weight and developed other symptoms of metabolic syndrome compared with a control group not fed the sweetener. Senior author Dr. Richard Hodin writes, “Sugar substitutes like aspartame are designed to promote weight loss and decrease the incidence of metabolic syndrome, but a number of clinical and epidemiologic studies have suggested that these products don’t work very well and may actually make things worse.”
Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, November 2016