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by azakai 4294 days ago
> It's true that artificial sweeteners have no immediate effect on appetite

Yes, but the quote you give doesn't mention immediate effects in particular. And to the contrary, they mention things like obesity and diabetes which are not immediate effects.

To me, it sounds like they are not saying what you say they are.
2 comments
biot 4293 days ago
The mentions of obesity and diabetes are written as direct causal relationships. To rearrange their quote without changing the meaning:

  "because low-calorie sweeteners do not have an effect on
   appetite, blood glucose levels or weight gain, they are not
   associated with an increased risk of obesity and diabetes"
Essentially, this says "if (no effect) then (no risk caused by effects)". As long as it's true that low-calorie sweeteners themselves don't have an effect on appetite, blood glucose levels, or weight gain then they're free to make the above implication. However, the statement is only a partial truth and has no bearing on the study under discussion.

If they wanted to directly respond to the study, they wouldn't keep quoting old studies which didn't attempt to investigate the results of the new research; they should instead say that they will study it and attempt to replicate the results, then issue a statement once they've understood the full implications. Of course, that wouldn't be a strong defensive statement of their vested interest so they of course can't say that.

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curun1r 4293 days ago
They are saying what they always say whenever anyone questions the safety/healthiness of their products. Their response is the equivalent of a form letter. It's akin to the statements that the tobacco companies made before congress, well-rehearsed and carefully worded to be deceiving. It's why they always seem to not address the specifics of what the scientific study actually found...because they intentionally aren't addressing it.

It's part of their larger playbook for continuing to poison the US population. That same playbook also has strategies for when regulation is proposed (increase campaign contributions, stress individual freedom to choose and responsibility and begin self-imposed reforms) and they've been doing it ever since the McGovern report suggested that our food might be harmful to our health. Thus far, they've gotten away with it every single time.

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