FitnessMantra Weekend: Artificial Sweeteners Could Make You Gain Weight
Welcome to “FitnessMantra Weekend”, your once-a-week health news update. As always you can also stay updated with the latest in fitness news by subscribing separately to the Fitness Mantra del.icio.us feed.
If you’ve been trying to lose weight by using artificial sweeteners in your daily coffee instead of the real deal, then this will jolt you more than that cup of joe ever did: Foods sweetened with artificial sweeteners could actually be making you gain weight!
Researchers from Purdue University gave yogurt to two groups of rats - the first sweetened with sugar while the second with artificial sweeteners, after which both groups were allowed near plenty of food. The results were eye-opening:
The saccharin-fed mice ate more calories, put on more fat, and gained more weight than their sugar-fed counterparts. They did not make any attempt to cut back on their food later to regulate their weight. [BBC]
The reason? Well, it’s just a theory for now, but the scientists believe that having something sweet-tasting primes the body for some calorie-rich foods and when that does not happen, it throws the body off - leading to excessive eating in later meals. Personally, I avoid artificial sweeteners and go right for the good natural stuff like cane or turbinado sugar (and only for food preparations - my coffee has been sugar/sweetener-free for about a year now and I don’t even miss it)
Just file this under “interesting” and proceed straight to the week’s top health and fitness stories:
- ‘Diet’ foods weight gain puzzle: Scientists from Purdue University in the US now believe that a sweet taste followed by no calories may make the body crave extra food.
- Columbus Walkers “Start” Moving for a Good Cause: Hundreds of walkers came out today to support the Heart Association’s new Start! campaign that encourages everyone to adopt a healthy lifestyle.
- Body fat determines need for diet: Measuring body fat, rather than body mass index, appears to more accurately identify people who need lifestyle interventions to lose weight, study findings suggest.
- Obese drivers less likely to use seat belts: … even large drivers who want to use a seat belt may be thwarted because not all carmakers offer bigger belts or extenders.
- Major diabetes trial halted after deaths: An unexpected number of deaths among patients receiving intense therapy to lower their blood sugar forced the National Institutes of Health to abruptly cut short part of a major study on diabetes and heart disease.
- Low-Carb Diets Better Than Low-Fat Diets at Preventing Diabetes: A diet low in carbohydrates but high in animal fat and protein doesn’t seem to increase the risk of type 2 diabetes in women, a new study claims.
- Exercise aids depression, say GPs: Doctors are increasingly prescribing exercise for people with depression, mental health campaigners have found.
- Lifting weights ‘good as running’: Weight training could be as effective as endurance exercises like running when it comes to burning fat and warding off diabetes, a study suggests.
- Beetroot ‘may cut blood pressure’: Drinking 500ml of beetroot juice a day can significantly reduce blood pressure, UK research suggests.
- Obesity ‘may be largely genetic’: Becoming overweight as a child is more likely to be the result of your genes than your lifestyle, claims a study.
- ‘Even toddlers’ could reduce fats: The nation is eating too much saturated fat, and even children as young as two may need to consume less, the Food Standards Agency says.
- Sorry, you’re too fat to eat here: A state lawmaker wants to ban restaurants from serving food to obese customers - but please, don’t be offended.
- Actually, a long, healthy life costs more: Preventing obesity and smoking can save lives, but it doesn’t save money, researchers reported Monday.
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Have a great weekend!
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