Abstract
BackgroundSubstituting sugar-free for sugar-sweetened beverages reduces weight gain. A possible explanation is that sugar-containing and sugar-free beverages cause the same degree of satiety. However, this has not been tested in long-term trials.MethodsWe randomized 203 children aged 7-11 years to receive 250 mL per day of an artificially sweetened sugar-free beverage or a similarly looking and tasting sugar-sweetened beverage. We measured satiety on a 5-point scale by questionnaire at 0, 6, 12 and 18 months. We calculated the change in satiety from before intake to 1 minute after intake and 15 minutes after intake. We then calculated the odds ratio that satiety increased by 1 point in the sugar-group versus the sugar-free group. We also investigated how much the children liked and wanted the beverages.Results146 children or 72% completed the study. We found no statistically significant difference in satiety between the sugar-free and sugar-sweetened group; the adjusted odds ratio for a 1 point increase in satiety in the sugar group versus the sugar-free group was 0.77 at 1 minute (95% confidence interval, 0.46 to 1.29), and 1.44 at 15 minutes after intake (95% CI, 0.86 to 2.40). The sugar-group liked and wanted their beverage slightly more than the sugar-free group, adjusted odds ratio 1.63 (95% CI 1.05 to 2.54) and 1.65 (95% CI 1.07 to 2.55), respectively.ConclusionsSugar-sweetened and sugar-free beverages produced similar satiety. Therefore when children are given sugar-free instead of sugar-containing drinks they might not make up the missing calories from other sources. This may explain our previous observation that children in the sugar-free group accumulated less body fat than those in the sugar group.Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00893529 http://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT00893529
Highlights
Recent trials have shown that sugar-free beverages lead to less weight gain than sugar-sweetened drinks[1,2]
A possible explanation is that sugars in solution are detected incompletely by receptors that determine satiation
Baseline characteristics were similar for the two treatment groups, except that the sugar group had more girls, a lower mean BMI, and parents had on average achieved higher education levels (Table 1)
Summary
Recent trials have shown that sugar-free beverages lead to less weight gain than sugar-sweetened drinks[1,2]. Sugar-free and sugar-containing drinks should produce similar degrees of satiety[3], and intake of calories from other foods is not affected[4]. A possible explanation is that sugar-containing and sugar-free beverages cause the same degree of satiety. This has not been tested in long-term trials. We calculated the odds ratio that satiety increased by 1 point in the sugar-group versus the sugar-free group. When children are given sugar-free instead of sugar-containing drinks they might not make up the missing calories from other sources.
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