Fat and sugar substitutes: implications for dietary intakes and energy balance.

Public concern with body-weight management or other potential effects of excessive fat or sugar consumption have prompted massive industrial efforts in the development and marketing of intense sweeteners, bulk sweeteners, and fat replacement ingredients and technologies for macronutrient reduction in foods. The range of materials used and proposed for use as sugar and fat substitutes, and their different properties and applications, are discussed at length in the food science literature and other sources (for example, Setser & Racette, 1992; Khan, 1993; Schiffman & Gatlin, 1993; Lucca & Tepper, 1994). The present review highlights the nutritional implications of the consumption of reducedenergy foods produced by use of substitutes for sugar and/or fat, considering what these materials might replace, and focusing on potential influences on macronutrient intakes and weight control in the general population.