Consumers of Diet Beverages and Sugar Substitutes Have Lower Quality Diets, New Study Says

WASHINGTON (Dec. 16, 2024)–A new study shows that people who consume diet beverages and packets of sugar substitutes such as aspartame, sucralose, or stevia have a lower quality diet compared to people who do not eat foods and beverages with sugar substitutes.

A  study of a large sample of U.S. adults by researchers at the George Washington University and the American Cancer Society suggests people who drink “diet” beverages, eat artificially sweetened yogurt, or other sugar substitutes are consuming fewer fruits and vegetables and more foods that are highly processed and high in saturated fat, salt and added sugar.

“Although non-nutritive sweeteners (also known as sugar substitutes)  are used to replace added sugar, our study demonstrates  consumers of food and beverages with sugar substitutes are also consuming other foods and beverages that are high in nutrients of concern, such as saturated fats, sodium, and added sugar,” said the lead author Allison Sylvetsky, an associate professor of exercise and nutrition sciences at the GW Milken Institute School of Public Health.

The study, “Cross-sectional associations between consumption of non-nutritive sweeteners and diet quality among US adults in the Cancer Prevention Study-3” was published Nov. 25 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The research was funded by the American Cancer Society.

To interview Sylvetsky please contact Kathy Fackelmann, [email protected]