Addressing the association between artificially sweetened beverages and obesity

Date
2022
DOI
Authors
Konzelmann, Vanessa Catherine
Version
OA Version
Citation
Abstract
Obesity is a growing problem in the United States and excess sugar is thought to be a major contributor, leading to its growth over the previous decades. Artificial sweeteners began growing in popularity throughout recent decades, in part as a response to this. The inception of artificial sweeteners and their widespread use, however, has not led to a dramatic decrease in obesity rates. In fact, overweight and obesity rates continue to climb in the United States, despite the pervasive presence of these sweeteners in the food supply. This increase in overweight and obesity prevalence is likely due to many complex factors but some researchers believe that, although artificial sweeteners contribute little to no calories into the diet, they themselves could be promoting obesity in other ways, such as physiologically and behaviorally altering the way consumers respond to food. The first part of this thesis aims to explore the history of artificial sweetener use in the United States as well as the current research pertaining to the relationship between artificial sweetener use and obesity. The second part of this thesis proposes a study to further investigate the gaps in the literature surrounding artificial sweetener effects on the human body and brain and the mechanisms by which they may paradoxically promote overweight, obesity, and other adverse health effects.
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