The Nation - News from Oct. 7, 1987

The popular sugar substitute NutraSweet does not destroy diets by making people eat more, as some research suggests, and it may even help women lose weight, according to a new study financed by NutraSweet and directed by Dr. George Blackburn of New England Deaconess Hospital in Boston. The research found that women seemed to be able to stick to low-calorie diets better when they satisfied their cravings for sweets with sodas and snacks containing NutraSweet. The study found no evidence that men lose weight faster when they use the sweetener. In fact, they actually did worse in this experiment. But experts cautioned that the number of male participants was too small to produce statistically meaningful results. Researchers also cautioned that artificially sweetened snacks and drinks can help folks drop pounds only if they eat them instead of fattening treats--not in addition to them.