The Effect of Sucrose- and Aspartame- Sweetened Drinks on Energy Intake, Hunger and Food Choice of Female, Moderately Restrained Eaters
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International Journal of Obesity (1997) 21, 37±42 ß 1997 Stockton Press All rights reserved 0307±0565/97 $12.00 The effect of sucrose- and aspartame- sweetened drinks on energy intake, hunger and food choice of female, moderately restrained eaters JH Lavin, SJ French and NW Read Centre for Human Nutrition, Northern General Hospital, Herries Road, Shef®eld S5 7AU, UK Objective: To compare the effects of aspartame-sweetened and sucrose-sweetened soft drinks on food intake and appetite ratings of female restrained eaters. Subjects: Fourteen female students, shown to have eating restraint. Methods: Subjects were given four drinks (330 ml) of aspartame-sweetened lemonade, sucrose-sweetened lemonade and carbonated mineral water on three separate days. Seven of the subjects were informed of the drink type they were consuming on each occasion. Measurements: Appetite ratings were recorded and energy and macronutrient intakes were measured during the study day and day after leaving the department. Results: During the ®rst study day energy intake was lower whilst drinking the sucrose-sweetened lemonade compared with the aspartame-sweetened lemonade, although neither differed signi®cantly from energy intakes during the day they drank water. When the calories from the sucrose-sweetened lemonade were included (1381 kJ, 330 Kcal) energy intake did not differ between treatments. The following day energy intake was signi®cantly higher after the aspartame-sweetened lemonade compared with both sucrose-sweetened lemonade and the water due to an increase in the amount of carbohydrate consumed and resulted in a higher total energy intake over the two days studied. Knowledge of the drink types had no effect on energy intake or macronutrient intake. Appetite ratings did not differ between drinks and were not affected by knowledge of the drink types. Conclusion: These results suggest that in females with eating restraint, substituting sucrose-sweetened drinks for diet drinks does not reduce total energy intake and may even result in a higher intake during the subsequent day. Keywords: aspartame; sucrose; appetite; energy intake; restrained eaters Introduction tened with aspartame increased hunger compared with a non-sweet control. Most previous studies in this area have examined Energy ingested in the form of carbohydrate has an the effects of covert ingestion of sweeteners on the important effect on appetite regulation. Previous stu- short-term eating behaviour of normal subjects with dies have shown that calories ingested in carbohydrate low dietary restraint. Restrained eaters exert a high supplemented preloads were accurately compensated degree of cognitive control over food intake and many for by a reduction in intake from a subsequent test replace high calorie products with reduced calorie meal when compared with preloads containing arti®- alternatives as a simple means of reducing energy cial sweeteners or left plain.1,2 Thus there was no intake.6 It is not known how consumption of arti®- overall difference in energy consumption when the cially sweetened products would affect later intake in preload and test meal intake were summed. Further- restrained eaters nor how knowledge of consumption more, in some studies, sweetness in the absence of of low calorie items would in¯uence eating behaviour. calories has been shown to stimulate appetite: Rogers Since many arti®cial sweeteners are ingested in the et al3 and Blundell et al4 have shown that ingestion of form of soft drinks,7 the aim of the present study was concentrated solutions of sweeteners increases moti- to compare the effects of soft drinks containing vation to eat compared with water and, similarly, sucrose versus aspartame on appetite ratings and Tordoff and Alleva5 found that chewing gum swee- 48 h energy and macronutrient intake of healthy females of moderate dietary restraint and also to determine how knowledge of the drink type affected Correspondence: Professor NW Read. Received 22 May 1996; revised 20 September 1996; accepted 23 these measures. Food intake over 48 h was studied, as September 1996 energy compensation may not be detected during Effect of sucrose and aspartame on energy intake JH Lavin et al 38 consumption of a single test meal and may only consumed within 15 min. A selection of high carbo- become evident later under ad-libitum conditions. hydrate and high fat snacks were provided for each subject between 09.30 h and 12.30 h and again between 13.30 h and 17.30 h. A self-selection cold lunch was presented between 12.30 h and 13.00 h, and Methods a pre-selected evening meal was served between 17.30 h and 18.00 h. Subjects were served with the Subjects same evening meal on each of the three study days. Studies were carried out on fourteen healthy, normal All foods were weighed before and after presenta- weight female university students recruited by posters tion and were provided in amounts in excess of that placed throughout the University of Shef®eld and by which subjects would normally be expected to eat. word of mouth. Potential subjects completed the Subjects were instructed to eat until comfortably full. Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ)8 and On departure from the Centre at 19.00 h subjects were were asked questions about their eating patterns. provided with a set of weighing scales and food Subjects were selected if their scores on the TFEQ diaries to record all further intake for the remainder indicated dietary restraint (cognitive restraint score of the evening and the following day. Energy intake > 10 out of a possible 21, [13.3 Æ 0.6; mean Æ s.e.]), and percentage energy provided by the macronutrients but were excluded if they were currently dieting or if from the meals consumed at the centre and those they reported, in a question added to the TFEQ, that recorded in the food diaries were calculated using their eating patterns were markedly affected by their information obtained directly from product packages menstrual cycle. and the COMP-EAT dietary analysis package The selected subjects were asked to choose an (COMP-EAT, Lifeline Nutritional Services Ltd, evening meal from a menu list and were randomly London, UK). assigned to either an informed or uninformed study Ratings of hunger, fullness and prospective food group. The informed group were told the nature of the consumption were indicated on 100 mm visual analo- drink they were consuming on each occasion. Each gue scale questionnaires administered at hourly inter- subject gave written consent to participate in the vals from 09.00 h until 12.00 h and from 13.30 h study, the protocol for which was approved by the onwards, and in addition, ®ve minutes prior to and Local Research Ethical Committee Northern General every 15 minutes in the hour following the lunch time Hospital, Shef®eld. In order to disguise the true and evening meals. The last scale being administered at 19.00 h. The scales were adapted from a question- purpose of the study, the subjects were told that it 9 was an investigation into the effects of soft drinks on naire previously published. performance and arousal and asked to complete In between meals subjects were free to read, work simple computer tasks and questionnaires throughout or watch television. the study day. Statistical Analysis Protocol Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS for Subjects came to the Centre for Human Nutrition at windows v. 6.0 (SPSS Inc., USA). Repeated measures 9.00 am on three occasions, each exactly one week analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was applied to apart, after they had consumed their usual breakfast. ratings of hunger, fullness and prospective consump- They were given a different drink type on each test tion, with drink type and time of rating as within- day in a randomised order. These were normal subject factors and knowledge of drink type as a sucrose-containing lemonade, diet aspartame-contain- between subject factor. Baseline ratings were used ing lemonade and carbonated mineral water (Safeway, as covariates. Energy and macronutrient intakes were Table 1). Subjects attending the Centre on the same evaluated using analysis of variance (ANOVA) with day were in the same study group thus preventing the drink type as a within-subject factor and knowledge as uninformed group obtaining information of the drink a between subject factor. Post hoc Scheffe tests were type from the informed group. employed when differences due to drink type were Drinks (330 ml) were administered to the subjects observed. A P value of < 0.05 was considered sig- at 09.30 h, 11.30 h, 14.00 h and 16.00 h and were ni®cant. Table 1 Nutritional composition of the test drinks (expressed as total intake, 4 6 330 ml) Drink Nutritional composition/1320 ml Energy (kJ) Carbohydrate (g) Fat (g) Protein (g) Aspartame-sweetened lemonade < 42 0 0 0 Sucrose-sweetened lemonade 1381 79.2 0 0 Carbonated mineral water 0 0 0 0 Effect of sucrose and aspartame on energy intake JH Lavin et al 39 Figure 1 Hunger and fullness ratings during the ®rst study day. ASL aspartame-sweetened lemonade, SSL sucrose-sweetened lemonade, CMW carbonated mineral water. D test drink, L lunch meal, E evening meal. Results onade (P < 0.01; Figure 2). However, neither energy intake during these two treatments were signi®cantly different from that observed during the day they were Analysis of variance revealed no effect of knowledge consuming carbonated water. When the energy from of the drink type on appetite ratings, energy intake or the sucrose-sweetened lemonade (1318 kJ, 330 kcal) macronutrient intake throughout the study. Therefore was accounted for there was no difference in overall the data from the informed and uninformed groups are energy intake between the three treatments (Figure 2). combined and presented as results for all 14 subjects.