Habitual high and low consumers of artificially-sweetened beverages: Effects of sweet taste and energy on short-term appetite

This study investigated the effects of sweet taste and energy on subsequent short-term appetite in female habitual high and low consumers of artificially-sweetened beverages. The study was based on the proposal that effects of sweet taste on appetite may differ as a result of the habitual experience of sweetness with or without energy. Following a repeated measures design, 10 female habitual high and 10 female habitual low consumers of artificially-sweetened beverages consumed a non-sweet/low-energy, sweet/low-energy, and sweet/high-energy preload, and cumulative test meal intake (gram, kJ.), cumulative total intake (gram, kJ.), and subjective perceptions of appetite were subsequently assessed. Different effects of sweet taste were found in habitual high and low consumers of artificially-sweetened beverages. Low consumers of artificially-sweetened beverages demonstrated an increase in appetite in response to sweet taste, whereas high consumers did not. Effects of energy on appetite did not differ between consumers. The effects of energy are unsurprising. The effects of sweet taste, however, are of interest. The lack of response to sweet taste in high consumers of artificially-sweetened beverages can be explained as a result of the repeated experience of sweetness without energy by these consumers. This lack of response suggests an adaptation to sweet taste as a result of the habitual dietary pattern of these consumers.