Study reveals that zero-calorie artificial sweeteners trick the brain into making you feel hungrier
Experiments have shown that ingesting
Non-caloric sweetener effects on brain appetite regulation in individuals across varying body weights | Nature Metabolism
https://www.nature.com/articles/s42255-025-01227-8
Calorie-free sweeteners can disrupt the brain's appetite signals
https://keck.usc.edu/news/calorie-free-sweeteners-can-disrupt-the-brains-appetite-signals/
Artificial Sweetener Can Trick Your Brain Into Feeling More Hungry : ScienceAlert
https://www.sciencealert.com/artificial-sweetener-can-trick-your-brain-into-feeling-more-hungry
In a study published in the journal Nature Metabolism on March 26, 2025, a research team led by endocrinologist Kathleen Alanna Page of the University of Southern California conducted an experiment in which subjects ingested regular sugar and sucralose and then scanned their brain activity.
Participants were 75 young adults aged 18-35, equally matched for gender and weight (healthy weight, overweight, obese), who consumed 300ml of either a sugar-sweetened drink (sucrose), a drink containing sucralose, or water over three separate trials. The order in which participants consumed the three drinks was randomized, and the sweet drink was cherry-flavored so that participants could not tell whether it was sugar or sucralose.
The research team compared the results of blood tests and hunger questionnaires conducted before and after consuming the beverage, and found that, as expected, consuming sugar increased blood sugar levels, while hormones that regulate blood sugar levels, such as insulin and glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) , increased, suppressing hunger. On the other hand, sucralose did not change blood sugar levels or hormones, and caused greater hunger than when sugar was consumed.
Commenting on the results, Page said: 'The body uses hormones to regulate blood sugar levels to tell the brain that you've ingested calories and reduce hunger. But sucralose had no such effect, and the difference in hormonal responses to sucralose and sugar was particularly pronounced in obese participants.'
Additionally, fMRI scans of the brain showed that sucralose increased activity in the hypothalamus , an area that helps control appetite, Page said, suggesting that sucralose may affect eating behavior and cravings. In contrast, drinking a sugar-sweetened beverage reduced blood flow to the hypothalamus.
The results can be roughly summarized as follows: When obese people, in particular, sucralose was consumed, activity in the hypothalamus increased significantly, and the difference in hunger levels was also larger than when sugar was consumed. It was also reported that women showed greater changes in brain activity due to sucralose than men.
| Hunger Level | Blood sugar and hormones | Hypothalamic activity | |
|---|---|---|---|
| water | no change | no change | no change |
| sugar | Decreased | rise | Decreased |
| Sucralose | Increased compared to sugar (especially in obese people) | no change | Increased size (especially in obese people) |
Although sucralose is 600 times sweeter than sucrose, it has zero calories. Therefore, the researchers believe that there is a large discrepancy between the calories detected by the taste and the calories actually consumed, which may trigger a craving for sweets.
'If your body detects sweetness and expects calories, but then doesn't get those calories, the way your brain craves sweets may change over time,' Page said.
This change is particularly significant for children whose brains are still developing, so the research team is currently investigating how zero-calorie sweeteners affect the brains of children and adolescents.
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