Compared to sugar, consuming sucralose-a widely used sugar substitute-increases activity in the hypothalamus, a brain region that regulates appetite and body weight, according to a new USC study. Sucralose also changes how the hypothalamus communicates with other brain regions, including those involved in motivation. The study was just published in the journal Nature Metabolism.
About 40% of Americans regularly consume sugar substitutes, usually as a way to reduce calories or sugar intake. “But are these substances actually helpful for regulating body weight? What happens in the body and brain when we consume then, and do the effects differ from one person to the next?” said the study’s corresponding author, Kathleen Alanna Page, MD, director of the USC Diabetes and Obesity Research Institute and…