Sweeteners beat water
A randomized trial reported that non‑nutritive sweeteners outperformed water for weight loss and maintenance—challenging simplistic advice that only plain water aids weight control X post. The finding suggests sweetener use may be a pragmatic tool for some patients trying to reduce calories without losing adherence X post.
The trial, called SWITCH, randomized) 493 adults with BMI 27–35 kg/m2 and was published in the International Journal of Obesity in 2023–2024. Participants followed a structured programme: a 12‑week active weight‑loss phase with weekly group meetings followed by a 40‑week maintenance phase with monthly meetings, and were instructed to consume two 330‑ml servings per day of their assigned drink.(hra.nhs.uk) At 52 weeks the NNS arm lost a mean 7.5 kg versus 6.1 kg in the water arm (difference 1.4 kg, 90% CI −2.6 to −0.2, p<0.05), a statistically significant but—per the authors—not clinically large separation.(eprints.whiterose.ac.uk) The study completed the 52‑week timepoint with 262 participants remaining completed) and reported that 24.1% of the randomized sample were NNS‑naïve at baseline.(eprints.whiterose.ac.uk) The trial was funded) by the American Beverage Association, which the authors say was allowed to review the manuscript but that final content decisions were retained by the investigators.(livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk) Harrold et al.’s results echo earlier randomized work by Peters et al. (Obesity 2016) that also found NNS beverages supported greater weight loss/maintenance versus water, and a 2022 JAMA Network Open meta‑analysis reported substitution of low/no‑calorie sweetened beverages for sugar‑sweetened drinks produced weight benefits comparable to water in adults with overweight or obesity.(europepmc.org)
