Why artificial sweeteners can actually increase calorie consumption

Foods with artificial sweeteners are often seen as a dieter’s alternative to sugar, but a new study has identified how artificial sweeteners can actually stimulate appetite and make you eat more. In tests on fruit flies and mice, researchers in Sydney have found a complex network in the brain that responds to artificially sweetened food by telling the animal it hasn’t eaten enough energy. The animals, which were exposed to a diet containing artificial sweetener for prolonged periods (more than five days), were found to consume significantly more calories when they were then given naturally sweetened food.....
http://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-beauty/article/1989753/why-artificial-sweeteners-can-actually-increase-calorie

Fake Sweeteners Make You Crave More Sweets

As US diet soda sales fizzle, a mounting weight of evidence suggests that consumers may be onto something by turning away from artificial sweeteners. The latest: Researchers at the University of Sydney have identified a possible brain pathway that might push us to eat more sweet stuff after taking in calorie-free sugar substitutes.

The team found that when fruit flies are fed regular doses of sucralose (brand name: Splenda) over an extended period, they consume 30 percent more calories (compared to sucralose-free control flies) when they they have access to naturally sweetened food. And when the team removed the sucralose, the effect vanished....
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2016/07/fake-sweeteners-make-you-crave-more-sweets