Non-nutritive–sweetened (NNS) beverages and water resulted in equivalent weight loss for participants in a 12-week behavioral weight management program, according to findings published in Obesity. Jason C. G. Halford, PhD, and colleagues examined 12-week data from an ongoing, 2-year, open-label trial of adults with a BMI of 27 to 35 who regularly drank cold beverages. The researchers randomly assigned 493 participants 1:1 to intention-to-treat water (n=246) or NNS beverages (n=247) during the 12-week program. Weight changes between the groups assigned water or NNS beverages were comparable (−5.6 vs −5.8 kg). No significant differences between groups were reported for secondary endpoints except the decrease in waist circumference, which was greater with NNS beverages versus water, and glycated hemoglobin and consuming any type of sweetener, which were both greater with water versus NNS beverages. The results should “reassure healthcare professionals that NNS beverages can be used during weight loss without deleterious effects,” Dr. Halford and colleagues wrote.
