Effects on obese women of the sugar sucrose added to the diet over 28 d: a quasi-randomised, single-blind, controlled trial

To investigate whether obese women can compensate for sucrose added to the diet when it is given blind, rather than gaining weight or exhibiting dysfunctional regulation of intake, in the present study, forty-one healthy obese (BMI 30-35kg/m(2)) women (age 20-50 years), not currently dieting, were randomly assigned to consume sucrose (n 20) or aspartame (n 21) drinks over 4 weeks in a parallel single-blind design. Over the 4weeks, one group consumed 4x250ml sucrose drinks (total 1800kJ/d) and the other group consumed 4x250ml aspartame drinks. During the baseline week and experimental weeks, body weight and other biometric data were measured and steps per day, food intake using 7d unweighed food diaries, and mood using ten- or seven-point Likert scales four times a day were recorded. At the end of the experiment, the participants weighed 172 (se 047)kg less than the value predicted by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) model; the predicted body weight accounted for 943% of the variance in the observed body weight and experimental group accounted for a further 11% of the variance in the observed body weight, showing that women consuming sucrose drinks gained significantly less weight than predicted. The reported daily energy intake did not increase significantly, and sucrose supplements significantly reduced the reported voluntary sugar, starch and fat intake compared with aspartame. There were no effects on appetite or mood. Over 4 weeks, as part of everyday eating, sucrose given blind in soft drinks was partially compensated for by obese women, as in previous experiments with healthy and overweight participants.