Phu Yen Online - WHO warns against using artificial sweeteners for weight loss

The World Health Organization (WHO) on May 15 issued recommendations on the use of non-sugar sweeteners (NSS) for weight control or to reduce the risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

 

The WHO guidelines are based on a systematic review of available evidence, which found that the use of NSS does not provide any long-term benefits in reducing body fat in adults or children.

 

The results of this review also suggest that long-term use of NSS may have adverse effects such as increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and mortality in adults.

 

Replacing free sugars with NSS does not help with long-term weight management, according to Francesco Branca, WHO Director-General for Nutrition and Food Safety. Therefore, people should consider other ways to reduce their free sugar intake, such as consuming foods with natural sugars such as fruit or sugar-free foods and drinks.

 

NSS are not essential nutrients and have no nutritional value. People should reduce the amount of sugar in their diet, starting from an early age, to improve their health.

 

The above recommendation applies to everyone except individuals with pre-existing diabetes and includes all synthetic, natural or manufactured non-nutritive sweeteners that are not classified as sugars, found in processed foods and beverages, or sold separately for consumers to add to foods and beverages.

 

Common NSS include acesulfame K, aspartame, advantame, cyclamates, neotame, saccharin, sucralose, stevia and stevia extracts. The recommendation does not apply to personal care and hygiene products containing NSS such as toothpastes, lotions and medicines or to low-calorie sugars and sugar alcohols (polyols) - which are sugars and sugar extracts that contain calories and are therefore not considered NSS.

 

The WHO recommendation is rated as conditional because the association in the evidence between NSS and disease outcomes may be confounded by the baseline characteristics of study participants and complex ways of using NSS.

 

This means that policy decisions based on this recommendation may need to be discussed independently according to the specific country context, relevant factors such as consumption levels in different age groups.

 

The above guidelines are part of a suite of existing and forthcoming guidelines on healthy eating aimed at promoting lifelong healthy eating habits, improving diet quality and reducing the risk of NCDs worldwide .

 

According to VNA/Vietnam+

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