En ny studie, ”A Role for Sweet Taste”, publicerad i Behavioral Neuroscience, visar att råttor som får articificella sötningsmedel går upp mer i vikt än råttor som får socker:

Adult male Sprague–Dawley rats were given differential experience with a sweet taste that either predicted increased caloric content (glucose) or did not predict increased calories (saccharin). We found that reducing the correlation between sweet taste and the caloric content of foods using artificial sweeteners in rats resulted in increased caloric intake, increased body weight, and increased adiposity, as well as diminished caloric compensation and blunted thermic responses to sweet-tasting diets. These results suggest that consumption of products containing artificial sweeteners may lead to increased body weight and obesity by interfering with fundamental homeostatic, physiological processes.

Detta tycks inte bara gälla för råttor utan även för människor. Ska jag sluta med Coca Cola Zero nu?