ReviewNutrients2018
Early-Life Exposure to Non-Nutritive Sweeteners and the Developmental Origins of Childhood Obesity: Global Evidence from Human and Rodent Studies.
Review in Nutrients, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers, 2 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
34 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effects of Nonnutritive Sweeteners on the BMI of Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials and Prospective Cohort Studies.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2024Pooled it
- Consumption of Non-Nutritive Sweetener during Pregnancy and Weight Gain in Offspring: Evidence from Human Studies.Nutrients · 2022Pooled it
- Sugar rationing during the first 1000 days of life and lifelong risk of heart failure.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Maternal monosaccharide diets modulate melanocortin-4 receptor signaling and metabolic state in rat offspring.Pharmacological reports : PR · 2025Article
- Non-nutritive sweeteners in food-drug interactions: An overview of current evidence.Molecular pharmacology · 2025Review
- Exposure to sugar rationing in the first 1000 days of life protected against chronic disease.Science (New York, N.Y.) · 2024Article
- Intergenerational transmission of sucralose and acesulfame-potassium from mothers to their infants via human milk: a pharmacokinetic study.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2024Article
- Investigating the Sociodemographic and Health Characteristics of Non-Sugar Sweeteners Consumption in Greek School-Aged Children: A Cross-Sectional Study.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- The MILK study: Investigating intergenerational transmission of low-calorie sweeteners in breast milk.Contemporary clinical trials communications · 2023Article
- Maternal Consumption of Non-Nutritive Sweeteners during Pregnancy Is Associated with Alterations in the Colostrum Microbiota.Nutrients · 2023Article
- Non-sugar sweeteners: helpful or harmful? The challenge of developing intake recommendations with the available research.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2023Article
- Patterns and Predictors of Low-Calorie Sweetener Consumption during Pregnancy: Findings from a National Survey.Nutrients · 2023Article
- Effects of Nonnutritive Sweeteners on Body Composition Changes during Pubertal Growth.Nutrients · 2023Article
- Article
- Maternal consumption and perinatal exposure to non-nutritive sweeteners: should we be concerned?Frontiers in pediatrics · 2023Review
- The consumption pattern and perception of using artificial sweeteners among the public in Tabuk region, Saudi Arabia.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- Prevalence of Low-Calorie Sweeteners and Related Front-of-Package Claims in the Brazilian Packaged Food Supply.Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics · 2022Article
- Non-Nutritive Sweetener Intake Is Low in Preschool-Aged Children in the Guelph Family Health Pilot Study.Nutrients · 2022Article
- Association of the consumption of common drinks with early puberty in both sexes.Frontiers in public health · 2022Article
- Interactions of Non-Nutritive Artificial Sweeteners with the Microbiome in Metabolic Syndrome.Immunometabolism · 2022Article
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.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Non-nutritive sweeteners (NNS) are increasingly consumed by children and pregnant women around the world, yet their long-term health impact is unclear. Here, we review an emerging body of evidence suggesting that early-life exposure to NNS may adversely affect body composition and cardio-metabolic health. Some observational studies suggest that children consuming NNS are at increased risk for obesity-related outcomes; however, others find no association or provide evidence of confounding. Fewer studies have examined prenatal NNS exposure, with mixed results from different analytical approaches. There is a paucity of RCTs evaluating NNS in children, yielding inconsistent results that can be difficult to interpret due to study design limitations (e.g., choice of comparator, multifaceted interventions). The majority of this research has been conducted in high-income countries. Some rodent studies demonstrate adverse metabolic effects from NNS, but most have used extreme doses that are not relevant to humans, and few have distinguished prenatal from postnatal exposure. Most studies focus on synthetic NNS in beverages, with few examining plant-derived NNS or NNS in foods. Overall, there is limited and inconsistent evidence regarding the impact of early-life NNS exposure on the developmental programming of obesity and cardio-metabolic health. Further research and mechanistic studies are needed to elucidate these effects and inform dietary recommendations for expectant mothers and children worldwide.
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