The Claim

Consumption of artificially sweetened beverages for 12 months does not reduce the sweetness threshold, whereas consumption of unsweetened beverages for the same duration significantly lowers the sweetness threshold, indicating distinct effects on sensory adaptation to sweetness.

Source: Effects of Sugar‐Sweetened, Artificially Sweetened, and Unsweetened Beverages on Cardiometabolic Risk Factors, Body Composition, and Sweet Taste Preference: A Randomized Controlled Trial

What the research says

Supports is higher

Support is ahead, but a single strong opposing study can change this.

Supports
78score
Challenges
0score

These are independent scores, not a percentage. Higher-grade studies count more, so a single strong opposing study can outweigh several weaker ones.

Cause and effect
1 study reviewed
In plain English

After 12 months of drinking artificially sweetened beverages, the minimum amount of sugar needed to taste sweetness does not change. Drinking unsweetened beverages for the same time lowers the amount of sugar needed to detect sweetness.

See the scientific wording

Artificially sweetened beverages do not reduce the sweetness threshold—the minimum sucrose concentration perceived as sweet—after 12 months of consumption, whereas unsweetened beverages significantly lower it, suggesting different effects on sensory adaptation to sweetness.

Why this might work

When a person drinks drinks with artificial sweeteners, the taste buds keep sensing sweetness, but the body doesn't get any sugar or calories. This tricks the brain into keeping its sensitivity to sweetness high, so the person still needs a lot of sugar to taste it as sweet. When a person drinks plain water instead, the taste buds stop getting constant sweetness signals, so they become less sensitive over time, and the person starts to taste sweetness even when there's less sugar.

Verified mechanismbased on 1 study

What the research says

1 study

  1. Study: Effects of Sugar‐Sweetened, Artificially Sweetened, and Unsweetened Beverages on Cardiometabolic Risk Factors, Body Composition, and Sweet Taste Preference: A Randomized Controlled Trial

    After a year, people who drank water became less sensitive to sweetness—they needed less sugar to taste it as sweet—but people who drank diet soda didn’t change. So water may help your taste buds get used to less sugar, but diet soda doesn’t.

Score breakdown, mechanism chain, raw evidence, ideal studies needed & 1 supporting studies

Fit Body Science verdict — we translate health claims into clear verdicts backed by peer-reviewed research.

Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.