An alarming rise: Fake sweetener consumption up 200 percent among children

Consumption of sugar substitutes also rose 54 percent in adults

An alarming rise: Fake sweetener consumption up 200 percent among children

Consumption of sugar substitutes also rose 54 percent in adults

More American adults and children are using artificial sweeteners on a regular basis, according to a study released Tuesday from the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The results show consumption of sugar substitutes increased 200 percent in children and 54 percent in adults from 1999 to 2012. The health risks of using artificial sweeteners like Equal or Sweet 'n' Low remain unknown. "Our findings were that 25.1 percent of children and 41.4 percent of adults reported consuming low-calorie sweeteners," the study said. "Most LCS consumers reported use once daily (80% of children, 56% of adults) and frequency of consumption increased with body weight in adults. LCS consumption was higher in females compared with males among adults, and in obese individuals, compared with overweight and normal-weight individuals." A 2013 study from Harvard University found that consumption of both sugar-sweetened and artificially-sweetened drinks led to a higher risk of Type 2 Diabetes, though more research is needed to confirm the link. Scientists monitored 17,000 adults and children from 2009 to 2012 and compared the data to a previous study from 1999 to 2008. 44 percent of adults and 20 percent of children consumed fake sweeteners more than once a day. Children as young as two-years-old were found to eat or drink foods sweetened with low-calorie sweeteners at least once per day. Artificial sweeteners include aspartame, sucralose, neotame, advantame and saccharin. “We don’t want to tell people to avoid low-calorie sweeteners, because we don’t have a lot of evidence to suggest that they’re harmful,” lead study author Dr. Allison Sylvetsky told the New York Daily News. “But we also don’t have a lot of evidence to suggest that they're helpful.” Follow @theabigailelise on Twitter.

More American adults and children are using artificial sweeteners on a regular basis, according to a study released Tuesday from the . The results show consumption of sugar substitutes increased 200 percent in children and 54 percent in adults from 1999 to 2012.

The health risks of using artificial sweeteners like Equal or Sweet 'n' Low remain unknown.

"Our findings were that 25.1 percent of children and 41.4 percent of adults reported consuming low-calorie sweeteners," the study said. "Most LCS consumers reported use once daily (80% of children, 56% of adults) and frequency of consumption increased with body weight in adults. LCS consumption was higher in females compared with males among adults, and in obese individuals, compared with overweight and normal-weight individuals."

from Harvard University found that consumption of both sugar-sweetened and artificially-sweetened drinks led to a higher risk of Type 2 Diabetes, though more research is needed to confirm the link.

Scientists monitored 17,000 adults and children from 2009 to 2012 and compared the data to a previous study from 1999 to 2008. 44 percent of adults and 20 percent of children consumed fake sweeteners more than once a day. Children as young as two-years-old were found to eat or drink foods sweetened with low-calorie sweeteners at least once per day.

Artificial sweeteners include aspartame, sucralose, neotame, advantame and saccharin.

“We don’t want to tell people to avoid low-calorie sweeteners, because we don’t have a lot of evidence to suggest that they’re harmful,” lead study author Dr. Allison Sylvetsky . “But we also don’t have a lot of evidence to suggest that they're helpful.”

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