ReviewCurrent gastroenterology reports2017
The Association Between Artificial Sweeteners and Obesity.
Review in Current gastroenterology reports, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 78 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
78 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 193 citations in OpenAlex.
- The longitudinal association between artificial sweetener intake and the risk of type 2 diabetes among adults aged 18 years and older: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Pooled it
- Ultra-Processed Foods and Human Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2024Pooled it
- Effect of Non- and Low-Caloric Sweeteners on Substrate Oxidation, Energy Expenditure, and Catecholamines in Humans-A Systematic Review.Nutrients · 2023Pooled it
- Can Artificial Sweeteners Increase the Risk of Cancer Incidence and Mortality: Evidence from Prospective Studies.Nutrients · 2022Pooled it
- Intake of artificial sweeteners among adults is associated with reduced odds of gastrointestinal luminal cancers: a meta-analysis of cohort and case-control studies.Nutrition research (New York, N.Y.) · 2021Pooled it
- Trial
- Trial
- Synthetic Sweeteners and Human Health: An Overview of Health Risks, Vulnerable Populations, and Effects on Key Biological Systems.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Review
- Artificial sweeteners and risk of cardiometabolic outcomes and mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Nutrition research and practice · 2026Review
- Dietary exposure to food additives in ultra-processed foods: implications for gut microbiome, metabolic health, and risk assessment.Frontiers in public health · 2026Review
- Article
- Digital marketing by big bubble tea brands in China in 2023: a content analysis.Public health nutrition · 2025Article
- Environmental Insults to Glucose Metabolism: The Role of Pollutants in Insulin Resistance.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Prevalence and Factors Associated with the Use of Artificial Sweeteners in Nonpregnant, Nonlactating Females of Reproductive Age - A Systematic Review.Current developments in nutrition · 2025Article
- Sweetened beverage intake across moderate intake range is not associated with pregnancy-related weight change or biomarkers of glycemic control.Nutrition research (New York, N.Y.) · 2025Observational
- Artificial Sweetener Use in Hungary: A Cross-Sectional Study on Socioeconomic and Health Disparities from a Public Health Perspective.Nutrients · 2025Article
- Artificial sweeteners differentially activate sweet and bitter gustatory neurons in Drosophila.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- The Effect of Non-Nutritive Sweeteners' Consumption on Body Weight: A Randomized-Controlled Trial.Food science & nutrition · 2025Article
- Sweetened beverage intake and incident gastroesophageal reflux disease in a prospective cohort study.European journal of nutrition · 2025Article
- Biosynthesis and metabolic engineering of natural sweeteners.AMB Express · 2025Review
18 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purpose of reviewThe purpose of this paper is to review the epidemiology of obesity and the evolution of artificial sweeteners; to examine the latest research on the effects of artificial sweeteners on the host microbiome, the gut-brain axis, glucose homeostasis, and energy consumption; and to discuss how all of these changes ultimately contribute to obesity. RECENT
findingsAlthough artificial sweeteners were developed as a sugar substitute to help reduce insulin resistance and obesity, data in both animal models and humans suggest that the effects of artificial sweeteners may contribute to metabolic syndrome and the obesity epidemic. Artificial sweeteners appear to change the host microbiome, lead to decreased satiety, and alter glucose homeostasis, and are associated with increased caloric consumption and weight gain. Artificial sweeteners are marketed as a healthy alternative to sugar and as a tool for weight loss. Data however suggests that the intended effects do not correlate with what is seen in clinical practice. Future research should focus on the newer plant-based sweeteners, incorporate extended study durations to determine the long-term effects of artificial sweetener consumption, and focus on changes in the microbiome, as that seems to be one of the main driving forces behind nutrient absorption and glucose metabolism.
Indexed as
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.