A new study involving rats eating artificial sweeteners as part of their regular diet found that they continued to gain weight, puzzling the research team.
The American study, conducted at Purdue University, concluded that the sweet taste without any calories may make the body crave extra food . The research was published in the journal Behavioral Neuroscience, and did make it clear that artificial sweeteners remain a better alternative than sugar .
The team gave rats yoghurt, some with sugar and others with saccharin. The research team reportedly commented: “The data clearly indicate that consuming a food sweetened with no-calorie saccharin can lead to greater body-weight gain and adiposity than would consuming the same food sweetened with higher calorie sugar.”