ILSI at ICN: Tuesday, 17 October, 11:30 – 13:30

Low-Calorie Sweeteners: Update on Health & Safety

This session was sponsored by ILSI North America and ILSI Europe.

Low-calorie sweeteners (LCS) are ingredients used in formulating foods and beverages to reduce their sugar and caloric contents. Questions have been raised in the popular press and by public health communities regarding their potential benefits and safety. This session focused on common frameworks for addressing such questions. Systematic reviews with meta-analyses, the gold standard for evaluating a body of research regarding diet and health, were discussed. Such reviews have been used in dietary guidance development by the World Health Organization in evaluating evidence on research questions regarding sugars and health. The latest systematic reviews examining the relationship of LCS intake with weight and glycemic response was presented. Additionally, the global frameworks for regulatory and safety evaluations was addressed. Finally, research exploring the science of sweet taste and implications for the use of LCS was discussed.

Low-Calorie Sweeteners and Weight – A Systematic Review of Human and Animal Studies

Peter Rogers, PhD, RNutr (Session Chair)
Bristol University, United Kingdom

Low-Calorie Sweeteners and Glycemic Response

Xavier Pi-Sunyer, MD, MPH
Columbia University Medical Center, USA