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Wojcieszonek Adam, Szpyt Justyna, Pajor Kacper, Hawryłkowicz Viktoria. Can aspartame-sweetened products safely help with weight loss? Journal of Education, Health and Sport. 2020;10(9):345‑348. eISSN 2391-8306. DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.12775/JEHS.2020.10.09.039 https://apcz.umk.pl/czasopisma/index.php/JEHS/article/view/JEHS.2020.10.09.039 https://zenodo.org/record/4030031 The journal has had 5 points in Ministry of Science and Higher Education parametric evaluation. § 8. 2) and § 12. 1. 2) 22.02.2019. © The Authors 2020; This article is published with open access at Licensee Open Journal Systems of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Poland Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author (s) and source are credited. This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non commercial license Share alike. (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) which permits unrestricted, non commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited. The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper. Received: 20.08.2020. Revised: 25.08.2020. Accepted: 15.09.2020. Can aspartame-sweetened products safely help with weight loss? Adam Wojcieszonek1, Justyna Szpyt1, Kacper Pajor1, Viktoria Hawryłkowicz1 Department of Human Nutrition and Metabolomics, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, ul. Broniewskiego 24, 71 - 460 Szczecin, Poland Address for correspondence Adam Wojcieszonek, e-mail: adam.wojcieszonek@interia.pl Abstract One of the main causes of obesity is the high consumption of products rich in easily absorbed carbohydrates. Sweet products with lower energy value, which sweetness comes from artificial sweeteners are becoming more and more popular. One of the most examined and popular is aspartame. This sweetener is broken down in the human body among others to methanol, which is oxidized to formaldehyde and formic acid, that are toxic to the human body. Furthermore, there is an ongoing discussion about the potential carcinogenicity and the impact of aspartame on the gut microbiota. A literature review was conducted to determine whether aspartame could be considered a safe weight loss aid. European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) guidelines indicate that the toxic dose of aspartame in chronic use is 4000 mg per every kilogram of body mass per day. On the other hand, there are studies on rats that indicate that EFSA's position is overly optimistic. However, it should be noted, that so high consumption situations of this sweetener that would allow to approach the recommended daily maximum are extremely rare. The amount of methanol provided by aspartame-sweetened foods also makes it extremely difficult to achieve toxic levels. Aspartame has also been shown not to affect the gut microbiota. What is important from a dietary point of view, study that compared the consumption of "light" drinks with water showed that people on a diet and consuming "light" drinks achieved significantly greater weight reduction (approx. 1.24 kg) compared to people consuming only water. The use of aspartame as a substitute for sugar may help in reducing excess body weight. However, attention should be paid to the inconclusive results regarding the acceptable safe level of consumption of this sweetener. Keywords: Aspartame, Sweeteners, Obesity, Weight Reduction Diet

Background. Obesity is regarded as the most common disease of affluence, gradually getting an epidemic status. Objective. The aim of the study was to assess the frequency of consumption of selected food products among the patients qualified for bariatric surgery, together with the analysis of the potential effect of the diet on the development of obesity in examined group of people. Material and Methods. The study involved 57 patients qualified for bariatric treatment of obesity. A standardized food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was used and anthropometric measurements were performed. Results. In examined group of people, along with increasing BMI, the frequency of cheeses consumption decreased, whereas the frequency of consumption of vegetable and fruit - vegetable juices increased. In addition to that, it was observed that with higher frequency of consumption of animal fat (lard, bacon) and beer, the value of WHR increased, whereas the frequency of consumption of dairy products was in direct proportion to body weight of examined people. It was also noted that people living in the country consumed fruits and potatoes significantly more often than people living in the city, and that people with higher education significantly more often ate coarse grits, high quality meats and fatty fish, as compared to people with vocational training. Conclusions. Inappropriate selection of food products and numerous dietary mistakes made by the patients directly contributed to the development of extreme obesity. The patients prepared for bariatric surgery should receive a dietician support during the preparation for the procedure and afterwards, later in life, in order to maintain a reduced body weight after the surgery.