Cutting back on sweet foods may not reduce cravings or improve overall health, according to a new study that challenges a long-held belief about the “sweet tooth.”
Researchers in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom found that adults who ate more or less sweet-tasting foods over several months showed no significant differences in their preference for sweet foods.
Participants’ body weight and diabetes and heart disease markers also remained largely unchanged, according to a study published in January in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
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The findings challenge the common belief that reducing sweet foods can “train” the body to crave them less over time, and highlight that sweet taste and sugar content are not always the same.
“People have a natural love of sweet taste, which has led many organizations, including the World Health Organization, to offer dietary advice on reducing the amount of sweetness in our diets altogether,” Katherine Appleton, a study co-author and professor of psychology at Bournemouth University in England, said in a statement.
“However, our results do not support this advice, which does not consider whether the sweet taste comes from sugar, low-calorie sweeteners or natural sources,” Appleton added.
The clinical trial followed 180 adults who were divided into three groups: one that consumed a diet high in sweet-tasting foods, one that followed a low-sweetness diet and a third with a moderate level.
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The foods included a mix of sugar, naturally sweet items such as fruit and dairy, and low-calorie sweeteners.
Over six months, researchers tracked participants’ preferences for sweet foods, along with weight and biomarkers linked to cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
They found no significant differences between the groups across any of the measures. Participants also tended to return to their original eating habits once the trial ended — suggesting that preferences for sweet taste may be relatively fixed in adulthood.
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“It’s not about eating less sweet food to reduce obesity levels,” Appleton said. “The health concerns relate to sugar consumption.”
Some fast food may not taste sweet, even though it contains high levels of sugar — while naturally sweet products such as fresh fruit and dairy products can have health benefits, she added.
It’s why public health advice should focus on how people can reduce added sugar intake, portion sizes and overall calorie consumption, the study indicated.
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Cravings, meanwhile, are influenced by a variety of factors. Experts say addressing those underlying drivers is what actually helps reduce them.
“Cravings appear to be driven more by overall diet quality, stress, sleep, meal timing and exposure to highly processed foods than by how sweet the diet tastes,” Michelle Routhenstein, a New York-based preventive cardiology dietitian and certified diabetes educator, told Fox News Digital.
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Routhenstein, who was not involved in the study, recommended cutting back on added sugars and ultra-processed foods, focusing on balanced meals with protein, fat and fiber, and choosing more nutritious alternatives to high-sugar treats to cut cravings.
The researchers said their findings were based on generally healthy adults — and more research may be needed among other populations.
The study received public and private funding, including from food and beverage industry groups. Some researchers also disclosed past or current relationships with companies in the sweeteners and food sectors.
Fox News Digital reached out to the study’s authors for further comment.
