Eating episodes and low calorie sweetener intake in the US adult population: NHANES 2007–2012

Based on research in rodents, use of Low Calorie Sweeteners (LCS) have been hypothesized to disrupt the expected relationship between sweet oral taste cues and post‐ingestive caloric outcomes potentially affecting dietary eating patterns, however human data is absent. To explore this proposed association we used the first 24 hour recall dietary data from the NHANES 2007–2012 (19+y;sample n=15,610) to assess by LCS intake the reported number, timing, type, and macronutrient content of eating episodes (n=83,216). Eating episodes were based on respondent‐defined intake of reported items consumed within a 15 minute window. Those who reported intake of LCS containing foods, beverages and condiments evidenced more eating episodes per day, which started earlier in the morning and lasted longer across the day, than non‐LCS episodes. In a given day, estimated macronutrient intake per eating episode and overall was significantly lower among individuals who reported LCS intakes. These data are consistent with other published reports that show a larger number of eating episodes and lower caloric intake associated with LCS consumption.Support or Funding InformationResearch Support: PepsiCo, Inc. Global R&D. Comparing all reported intakes during eating episodes in US adults for foods & beverages with and without low calorie sweetener (LCS). (% or mean ± SEM) No LCS (64.2%) Yes LCS (35.8%) Number of Episodes (n) 5.37 ±0.04 5.84 ±0.04** Time of First Episode 7:39am ±3.0 7:16am ±4.2** Time of Last Episode 8:22pm ±1.6 8:24pm ±2.6 Time Span of Daily Eating (all categories)** Less than 10.9 hours/24 (%) 22.58 ±0.69 17.28 ±0.81 >10.9 to <14.2 hours/24 (%) 53.68 ±0.72 54.04 ±0.85 Greater than 14.2 hours/24 (%) 23.74 ±0.74 28.68 ±0.79 Type of Eating Episode (all categories)* Food Only (%) 28.12 ±0.53 26.46 ±0.68 Food and Beverage (%) 43.26 ±0.59 45.42 ±0.62 Beverage Only (%) 28.62 ±0.38 28.13 ±0.48 Nutrients per Eating Episode Grams (g) 657 ±7 608 ±7** Energy (kcal) 415 ±3 344 ±3** Energy Food (kcal) 307 ±2 274 ±2** Energy Beverage (kcal) 83 ±2 46 ±1** Energy Condment (kcal) 25 ±1 24 ±1 Energy density (kcal/g) 1.18 ±0.01 1.09 ±0.01** Protein (g) 15.56 ±0.13 14.01 ±0.17** Carbohydrate (g) 51.15 ±0.44 39.98 ±0.31** Total Sugars (g) 23.86 ±0.34 16.29 ±0.16** Dietary Fiber (g) 3.14 ±0.04 2.99 ±0.05* Total Fat (g) 15.29 ±0.15 13.60 ±0.16** Energy (kcal) for all eating episodes 2233 ±18 2013 ±17** Note: P‐values compared differences between eating episodes with and without LCS by pairwise analysis of mean values and global analysis of categorical variables. Statistically significant at p<0.05 Statistically significant at p<0.001