Swansea: Artificial sweetners, do not help slimmers to loose weight, says a top medical experts.

Professor David Benton, a psychologist from Swansea University in Wales, said those who use artificial sweetners are more likely to eat more of other foods and eat even more calories.

In a report in the magazine, Nutrition Research he says slimmers would be better off cutting out fat. He says people may compensate for the lack of sugar by eating more of other foods, which may have even more calories. Professor Benton, a psychologist who has written a report in the journal Nutrition Research Review, said people trying to lose weight and keep it off would be better reducing fat intake rather than calories in sugar.

Professor Benton, whose report was partly funded by the sugar industry,said it was questionable as to whether artificial sweetners were helpful in the long term.