Magda Ibrahim Hassan at Cairo University in Giza, Egypt conducted a study and found aspartame, an artificial sweetener can increase appetite, food consumption, and weight gain in your hamsters.  The study was published this year in Journal of Food and Nutrition Research.

In the 42-day feeding trial, weanling male hamsters were provided either with pure water without aspartame spiked or water with low concentrations of aspartame.  The doses of aspartame were lower than 40 mg per kg per day - the ADI set by the Food and Drug Administration.

The study was not the first to find use of aspartame associated with increased appetite and weight gain. Some other studies explained that the chemical can disrupt the normal sensory signaling of sweet taste and alter energy balancing and promote overcompensation. It is also possible that aspartame and other non-caloric artificial sweeteners increase the palatability of foods leading to increased intake of energy.  Another possibility is that these chemicals may stimulate liking for sweet foods.

The current study also found intake of aspartame causes histopathological changes in the tissues of the liver and damage to those of the brain.  This is not the only study that revealed some undesirable outcomes associated with use of this artificial sweetener.  Other researchers found similar results.

The author of the current study suggested that "authorities (the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the Agence Française de Sécurité Sanitaire des Aliments (French Food Safety Agency – AFSSA)) should reconsider the acceptable daily intake (ADI) of aspartame especially for children, they are more vulnerable than adults."

Many food and beverage companies use zero-calorie artificial sweeteners such as aspartame in beverages and processed foods to replace sweeteners such as high fructose corn syrup and sugar in hopes that use of artificial sweeteners reduces intake of calories and helps prevent obesity.  Studies have revealed some undesirable effects suggesting that aspartame may not be an ideal replacement for sugars. (David Liu)

Source:  Magda Ibrahim Hassan, Low Intake of Aspartame Induced Weight Gain and Damage of Brain & Liver Cells in Weanling Syrian Hamsters, Journal of Food and Nutrition Research, Vol. 4, No. 3, 2016, pp 152-156.