Comparison of the effects of aspartame and sucrose on appetite and food intake.

We have studied the effects of consumption of foods sweetened with either sucrose or aspartame on appetite ratings and food intake. Normal weight, non-dieting subjects ate the same amount of high- and low-calorie versions of pudding or jello and despite the resulting difference in caloric intake, showed only a non-significant trend towards compensation in a lunch one or two hours later. There were no significant differences between rated hunger, fullness, desire to eat, the amount subjects wanted to eat, or sensory-specific satiety following the high- and low-calorie foods. Knowing the caloric values of the foods did not influence intake or appetite ratings in that both informed and uninformed subjects responded similarly. Thus in the short term subjects tended to eat a constant amount of a particular food and this volume had a greater effect on appetite ratings and subsequent intake than the calories consumed.