Non-Nutritive Sweeteners: We Need To Balance The Scales

Abstract

Hardeep Lotay* and Karlie Intlekofer

Non-nutritive sweeteners (NNS) are used as a low-calorie sugar substitute in food and beverages. With rising levels of obesity, metabolic syndrome and diabetes mellitus, NNS have potential to be a key dietary strategy, reducing sugar and caloric intake, ultimately reducing morbidity and mortality. However, there is a debate in current literature with a suggestion that NNS may promote weight gain, with alternative mechanisms of increased energy intake. This anti-NNS rhetoric has gained momentum, propelled by correlational support and naturalistic fallacies. In this editorial piece, the authors provide evidence in support of a balanced view of NNS to underscore caution in interpreting and communicating NNS research findings.