[gizmo686]

The actual recommendation:

> WHO suggests that non-sugar sweeteners not be used as a means of achieving weight control or reducing the risk of noncommunicable diseases (conditional recommendation)

> Conditional recommendations are those recommendations for which the WHO guideline development group is less certain that the desirable consequences of implementing the recommendation outweigh the undesirable consequences or when the anticipated net benefits are very small. Therefore, substantive discussion amongst policy-makers may be required before a conditional recommendation can be adopted as policy.

> Because the WHO Nutrition Guidance Expert Advisory Group (NUGAG) Subgroup on Diet and Health focuses on providing guidance on the prevention of unhealthy weight gain and diet-related NCDs, providing guidance on the management of diabetes in individuals with pre-existing diabetes is beyond the scope of this guideline. Therefore, the guidance in the guideline may not be relevant for individuals with existing diabetes.

https://apps.who.int/iris/rest/bitstreams/1501485/retrieve

I don't understand the expectations some people have of the WHO. Anything more complicated than a headline is going to get oversimplified by the media.

[notfed]

Also:

> The recommendation is based on evidence of low certainty overall

[WonderBuilder]

Thanks a lot for sharing that official document. It has great evidence and addresses the concerns I had. Additionally, the statement is labelled as a "recommendation", which is much more accomodating.