Aspartame Helps Keep Weight Off Reprinted from Food Insight July/August 1993 Losing weight is never easy. And studies show that most people who do shed unwanted pounds eventually gain them all back. But new research has identified one tool that may be effective in keeping the weight off long-term. Researchers at the Harvard-affiliated Deaconess Hospital found that people who used low-calorie sweetened foods were able to lose weight and keep it off with greater success than those who did not. George L. Blackburn, M.D., Ph.D., an expert in obesity management and clinical nutrition, completed a three-year study examining whether adding foods with the low-calorie sweetener aspartame, sold as NutraSweet¨, to a multi-disciplinary weight loss program helps people achieve and maintain medically-significant weight loss. In a presentation at the Fifth European Congress on Obesity in June, Blackburn said the study was a follow-up to his previous research, suggesting that aspartame helped dieters lose weight. Losing Weight Statistics show that one out of four Americans, about 46 million people, fit the general definition of obesity: being 20 percent or more above healthy body weight. Obesity is associated with other serious health problems such as high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and some types of cancer. Blackburn's study, funded by The NutraSweet Company, involved 163 obese women ages 20 to 60 years with an average weight of 220 pounds. For the first three weeks, participants followed a prescribed diet and exercise plan, excluding any foods containing aspartame. The women were then randomly assigned to one of two study groups: an experimental group instructed to consume aspartame-sweetened foods or a control group told to abstain from them. Otherwise, all participants followed the same nutritionally balanced, low-fat diet, containing approximately 1200 calories. Both groups also followed an exercise plan and attended one hour of behavioral counseling a week. Weight loss, aspartame intake and activity levels were monitored by study researchers. Participants also recorded their perceived hunger, cravings and eating control. At the end of 19 weeks, both groups lost approximately 10 percent of their original body weight, an average of 22 pounds. While increased exercise and greater eating control were associated with higher weight loss in both groups, among women in the aspartame group, another predictor of higher weight loss was increased aspartame intake. "When we looked specifically within the aspartame group, we found that consuming more aspartame was associated with a greater weight loss," said Beatrice Kanders, Ed.D., M.P.H., R.D., co-researcher and behavioral management consultant. Weight Maintenance The most important finding, however, was that after three years the aspartame group maintained a net weight loss of more than five percent of their body weight, while the control group on average gained all their weight back. Assignment to the aspartame treatment group, along with increased exercise and improved control over eating, were major predictors of initial weight loss as well as maintenance. "At the end of three years, we found those people who had access to aspartame achieved clinically and medically-significant weight loss while the control group did not," said Blackburn. Medically significant weight loss is defined as a 10 percent reduction in body weight. "It's the kind of weight loss that will help stop the development of other complications and illnesses that are associated with the disease of obesity," Blackburn added. Fighting Dieting Deprivation According to Blackburn, reduced-calorie foods are useful in weight management because most diets are overly restrictive and exclude certain foods. Studies show humans are born with a natural craving for sweet tastes. Denying this predilection can lead some persons to eventually give up weight management efforts. "But if you meet those cravings with high-intensity sweeteners, you eliminate most of the calories, but still have the satisfaction of a sweet taste, and that is associated with better weight loss long-term," said Blackburn. "In our study, those people told to abstain from aspartame were not able to keep off weight that they had previously lost." In fact, the study found that an increase in aspartame consumption was associated with a decrease in cravings for sweets. Researchers are careful to point out that it takes a multi-disciplinary program, including exercise and eating a more nutritious diet, to successfully lose weight. However, when aspartame-sweetened products are included in such a plan, maintenance of weight loss seems to be easier. Blackburn concluded, "This is the only study that has examined whether high-intensity sweeteners help keep weight off. And the answer was positive. It shows that if people have the intent to lose weight through improved diet, exercise and behavior, the use of aspartame will help them keep off more weight after three years and that it will be proportional to the amount of aspartame that they use." Reprinted from the International Food Information Council Foundation, 1993

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