If you’re a fat bastard trying to shed a few pounds, you may want to lay off the artificial sweeteners.
According to a study from Purdue University, rats fed a diet of artificially sweetened yoghurt ate more and gained more weight than those fed yoghurt sweetened with sugar.
Okay, so if you’re a pudgy rat, then avoid the artificial sweeteners for sure, but the researchers believe there may be similar effect on humans. They think the artificial sweetener may screw up the body’s natural ability to track calories based on sweetness, and cause it to want to eat more.
They may also increase your craving for garbage and cause an uncontrollable urge to enter politics.
You can find more of the whiskery details at the Globe and Mail. Other failed dieting plans here.
Tags: artifical sweeteners, dieting tips for rodents, diets, obesity research, rats, weight gain, Zombies
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February 12, 2008 at 6:04 pm
don
But Damn it! With the right financial backing and a case of diet coke I could win!
February 12, 2008 at 7:10 pm
Mark
My first thought when reading this was “who the f*** feeds rats with yoghurt?”
Oh, those wacky scientists.
February 13, 2008 at 10:22 am
Mark A. Rayner
I’m sure they feed them all kinds of wackier things in other studies. There’s probably even a study at some university where they’re feeding them politicians. (Is that a form of cannibalism?) m.
February 13, 2008 at 10:46 am
Rickey Henderson
Yep–if it’s artificial, it flat out isn’t good. As much as Rickey dislikes “big sugar” their unrefined products aint all that bad for ya. It’s only when you get into the realms of high fructose corn syrup that things get a little sticky (pardon the pun).