الفهرس 
AIM OF THE WORKOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
 |  | from | 87 |  |  |
| | | from | 87 | | |
Abstract
As the predominant sweetener in the world, sugar has a distinct place in the human diet. One way to control excessive energy intake is to replace the calories from sugar with a non-nutritive sweetener. Therefore the consumption of artificial sweeteners have increased in many countries worldwide, and in Egypt in the past years.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the use of 5 artificial sweeteners; each one is far sweeter than regular sugar, they include: Aspartame, Acesulfame-K, Saccharin, Sucralose and Neotame. The FDA has established acceptable daily intake (ADI) for each sweetener. This is this maximum amount considered safe to consume each day from Acesulfame K (15 mg/kg body weight), Aspartame (50 mg/kg body weight), Saccharin (5mg/kg body weight) and Sucralose (5mg/kg body weight).
The health benefits of artificial sweeteners are in conclusive .There are conflicting researches surrounding the health benefits of artificial sweeteners. Therefore it was important to conduct this study.
This study was conducted on 400 female and male students in different faculties of Alexandria University to assess the prevalence of consumption of artificial sweeteners among them. Data was collected using a pre-designed questionnaire to assess the: Socio-demographic characteristics, Medical history, Dietary habits and lifestyle, Pattern of artificial sweeteners consumption, Knowledge about artificial sweeteners, and the Dietary intake using a 24hr recall method.
Also Anthropometric assessment was carried out for each subject to measure the height and weight.
The purpose of the study was to survey the kinds of artificial sweeteners available at local market and identify the sweetener most commonly used by the students, to assess the knowledge about the use and side effects of the sweeteners among the students, and to determine the level and frequency of sweeteners consumption in relation to the ADI level by the FDA ,and finally to investigate the relationship between the body mass index (BMI), and the consumption of artificial sweeteners.
The study showed the following results:
1. The consumption of artificial sweeteners among Alexandria University students is 30.8 %, where a large per cent of females used artificial sweeteners (45.5%) compared to only 15.7 % in males.
2. The most commonly used types of artificial sweeteners are Sucralose commercially known as Sweetal 52.8%, followed by Aspartame commercially known as Sugar-match 28.5%, and Canderal 15.4%.
3. The daily level of artificial sweeteners consumed is less than the acceptable daily intake (ADI) set by the FDA. where the mean percentage of sucralose intake in relation to ADI is 11.86%, and of the aspartame is only 0.05%.
4. 37.9% of non-users are overweight compared to only 13% of artificial sweeteners users.
5. Most non-users of artificial sweeteners have generally fair (40.8%) and poor (24.9%) knowledge towards artificial sweeteners.
6. The mean daily energy intake is higher by 300 kcal per day in non-users than in users of artificial sweeteners.
7. The majority of artificial sweeteners users 87% followed a weight loss dietary regimen.
8. The most type of diet followed by users of artificial sweeteners who followed a weight loss programme is low fat diet (71%), followed by chemical diet (24.3%).
9. The most common perceived side effect of artificial sweeteners by users is undesirable taste (48.4%).
Recommendations
from the results of this study, the following can be recommended:
• Use artificial sweeteners in moderation.
• Nutrition education programs are suggested to increase knowledge of Alexandria University students especially females about the impact of high consumption of artificial sweeteners on their health.
• The levels of ADI of artificial sweeteners especially aspartame and sucralose should be revaluated to be decreased by FDA.
• Large epidemiological studies must be done to investigate artificial sweeteners consumption pattern among different age groups.
• Further follow up researches are needed to emphasize more strongly on proven side effect of long term artificial sweeteners usage.
• Encourage theAlexandria University students to reduce the intake of junk foods and eating outside the home habit.
• Adopting healthy eating habits and life style which can help in reducing overweight and obesity:
a- Eat a varied diet, rich in fruits, grains and vegetables.
b- Reduce energy intake and perform regular and adequate daily physical activity to maintain healthy body weight.
c- Don’t skip meals especially breakfast.
d- Eat processed foods as an occasional snack or treat, rather than the focal point of a meal.
• Set goals for healthy eating and appropriate design of meal plan should be done by the dietitian not self-prescription.