Artificial sweeteners, and diet sodas have been popular with dieters, diabetics and those with a sweet tooth for years. As regular sodas and sweets have decreased in sales, the global market for non-sugar sweeteners has only increased.  In 2010, over 9 million dollars were spent by Americans on non-sugar sweeteners, but are these fake sugars actually helping Americans lose weight or control their sugar intake?

Artificial sweeteners have been embraced by those trying to lose weight, especially as obesity is a growing global epidemic.  Obesity is currently a serious public health problem, and in the United States over one third of people are obese.  This is problematic as obesity puts you at an increased risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Further it is a major economic burden, as the cost of obesity exceeds 110 billion dollars annually.

One way people have found to cut the sugar and the calories, is to substitute with artificial sweeteners or corn syrup, which dramatically decreases the calorie content.  For instance, each gram of sugar contains 4 calories. While this might not sound like a lot, each teaspoon is 4 grams of sugar and a 12-ounce can of soda contains 8 teaspoons, resulting in about 130 calories from sugar alone. Cutting only one can of soda a day for a year would result in over 46,000 calories saved, the equivalent of 13 pounds in weight loss. While replacing that soda with water would be ideal, a calorie-free option would have the same calorie cutting effect.

But it may not be as simple as cutting calories. Some studies have shown that there is a relationship between weight-gain and artificial sweeteners.  What scientists think is happening is that that when we consume sugar-substitutes, the body expects to see surge in glucose. When this expectation is not met, we continue to crave sweets, eating until the craving is met. So it will definitely take much more than replacing real sugar with fake sugar to lose weight.  Unfortunately there are no real shortcuts here. The key to weight loss is cutting the total number of calories consumed, with clean eating.

While, diet products are a safe alternative to their full sugar counterparts, diet and exercise for weight loss is what will truly help in the long run. Exercising at least 3 days a week, increasing fiber and focusing on healthy choices are the best way to lose weight and stay fit.