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this post was submitted on 04 Aug 2023
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Weight gain or loss is just a numbers game of calories in vs calories out. Literally every diet that actually works boils down to a caloric deficit; and those that don't work are because they fail to cross that line.
Any time you substitute something high calorie for low, it's a step toward weight loss. So, artificial sweeteners (at least the zero calorie kinds like sucralose, aspartame, etc; not sure if high calorie sweeteners like high fructose corn syrup are considered "artificial" but it sure as fuck ain't natural) are extremely useful as a weight loss tool.
The study linked could replace artificial sweeteners with almost any weight loss tool and find the same result. "Study links people who sign up for an initial gym membership to increased body fat adipose tissue volume!!" ...like, no shit Sherlock, they're there to lose it.
Be careful not to draw the wrong conclusion from a misleading headline.
What!? That makes no sense.
They saw an association between sweetener intake and change in fat over 25 years. Not relative to the population, relative to their past selves. How would a weight loss tool increasing your body fat over 25 years be obvious?
That's my point - it makes no sense. They're either overlooking something, or artificials have some influence on the calories out side of weight loss that we don't know about.
They have a pretty detailed discussion section. The main hypothesis they support, based on plenty of other evidence, is that these drugs increase appetite. They motivate you to eat more calories, even though they contain fewer calories themselves.