A new clinical trial found that adjusting the sweetness of your diet has no effect on how much you enjoy sweet foods. Even if people ate more or less sweet-tasting products, their preference for sweetness remained the same.
The study also found no significant differences in markers related to heart disease or diabetes. Participants who increased or decreased their intake of sweet foods over a six-month period had similar results on all health measures.
Because of these findings, researchers say public health guidance may need to be reconsidered. Current recommendations often focus on reducing sugary foods as a way to address obesity, but this approach may lack the big picture.
Study details and key results
The study was conducted by Wageningen University and Research in the Netherlands and Bournemouth University in the UK, and the results were published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Catherine Appleton, professor of psychology at Bournemouth University and corresponding author of the study, said: “People have a natural tendency to prefer sweet tastes, which has led many organizations, including the World Health Organization, to provide dietary advice to reduce the amount of sweetness in the diet altogether.” “However, our results do not support this advice and do not take into account whether the sweetness comes from sugar, low-calorie sweeteners, or natural sources,” she added.
In this study, 180 participants were divided into three groups. One group had a diet high in sweet-tasting foods, another group had a low-sweet diet, and a third group had a moderate level. The sweetness in their diets came from a mixture of sugar, naturally sweet foods, and low-calorie sweeteners.
The researchers conducted surveys after one, three, and six months to see if the participants’ preference for sweet foods had changed. They also tracked their weight and collected blood and urine samples to assess diabetes risk and changes in cardiovascular health.
No permanent changes in diet or preferences
By the end of the 6-month period, there were no significant differences between the groups in any of the outcomes measured. Participants also tended to bring their sugary food intake back to their original levels on their own.
Based on these results, the researchers suggest that public health strategies that focus on reducing sugary foods may need to be revisited when addressing overweight and obesity.
“It’s not about eating less sweets to reduce obesity levels,” Professor Appleton said. “Health concerns are related to sugar intake. Some fast food items may not be sweet but may contain high levels of sugar. Similarly, many naturally sweet products such as fresh fruit and dairy products may have health benefits. Public advice therefore needs to focus on how people can reduce the amount of sugary and energy-dense foods they consume,” she concluded.
