Sucralose, which is found in many diet drinks, may affect brain activity and appetite levels
A new study conducted by researchers at USCs Keck School of Medicine explored a popular artificial sweetener sucralose.
Sucralose is a calorie-free sweetener thats commonly found in many diet drinks. The researchers learned that the sweetening agent can actually impact our brain activity and subsequently increase our appetite levels.
According to researcher Kathleen Page in a news release, the basis of the study was centered around two questions: Are these substances actually helpful for regulating body weight? And, what happens in the body and brain when we consume them, and do the effects differ from one person to the next?
The study
To better understand how calorie-free sweeteners affect the body and the brain, the researchers had 75 participants involved in the study.
Each participant completed three different trials one where they consumed sucralose, one where they consumed sugar, and one where they consumed water. Both before and after each trial, the researchers conducted brain scans and took blood samples. The participants also completed questionnaires on how hungry they were both before and after the experiments.
The effect of sucralose
Heres what the study revealed:
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Compared to regular sugar, sucralose increased activity in the hypothalamus the part of the brain responsible for regulating hunger. It also led to the participants feeling more hungry.
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Sucralose also increased activity in the hypothalamus compared to drinking water, but had no impact on participants hunger.
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Compared to sugar and water, consuming sucralose increases connections in the brain between the hypothalamus and other areas that are related to decision-making and motivation. This leads the researchers to believe that it could impact eating behaviors or cravings.
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Drinking sucralose had no impact on hormones that regulate blood sugar, while consuming traditional sugar increased insulin and glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1).
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Women and people with obesity were the most impacted by these outcomes.
The body uses these hormones to tell the brain youve consumed calories, in order to decrease hunger, Page said. Sucralose did not have that effect.
If your body is expecting a calorie because of the sweetness, but doesnt get the calorie its expecting, that could change the way the brain is primed to crave those substances over time, she said.
Further research
Moving forward, the researchers hope to do more work in this area, specifically on the ways that sucralose affects children and teens.
Are these substances leading to changes in the developing brains of children who are at risk for obesity? The brain is vulnerable during this time, so it could be a critical opportunity to intervene, Page said.
Posted: 2025-04-01 00:28:21
