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24th European Congress on Obesity

The International Sweeteners Association (ISA) is delighted to have participated to the European Congress on Obesity (ECO), organised by the European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO) from 17th to 20th May 2017 in Porto, Portugal.

ISA activities at ECO 2017 included the ISA sponsored symposium with renowned experts who presented latest research on low calorie sweeteners on Friday, 19th May 2017, at 13:15-14:45, and the ISA information booth in the exhibition area of ECO 2017 during the whole duration of the congress.

You will find more information about ISA participation at ECO 2017 here below and about the ISA symposium programme in the ISA symposium leaflet which you can download by clicking here.

In the closing panel discussion at the ISA symposium, the experts agreed that: “Taken together, these data add further evidence in support of a compelling argument for the benefit of low calorie sweeteners in overall calorie reduction and in weight control, and argue against a role of low calorie sweeteners in the promotion of obesity and diabetes. To address any uncertainties, there remains a need for larger, longer, high quality randomised clinical trials.” More about the outcome of the session and the speakers’ presentations is available in our press release by clicking here.

To read the interesting highlights from the ISA symposium at the 24th European Congress on Obesity in Porto by Prof. Maria Hassapidou, Professor of Nutrition and Dietetics, Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, Greece, please click here.

We welcomed visitors at the ISA information booth at ECO 2017 exhibition area aiming to address any question on low calorie sweeteners’ use, safety and role in a healthy diet.

At the ISA booth, there was also an opportunity to participate in our 3-minute survey and enter into a prize draw to win the registration fees for the next ECO in 2018, the 25th European Congress on Obesity in Vienna, Austria. Your feedback counts, therefore, we were very interested to learn more about your scientific interests and views in relation to low calorie sweeteners and the ISA. Thank you again for taking the time to fill in our survey.

By visiting the ISA booth, you also had the opportunity to receive new ISA resources for health professionals, including the new ISA 16-page leaflet featuring latest scientific evidence on low calorie sweeteners, as well as the detailed and evidence-based ISA booklet about ‘Low calorie sweeteners: Role and benefits’, and the ISA factsheets on the benefits of low calorie sweeteners.

The role of low calorie sweeteners in diabetes and weight management has been the subject of a large number of research studies of the last decades, and has attracted the interest of the scientific community and health professionals. Recognising the increased interest in this field, while also being committed to our objective to communicate evidence-based new and existing research, the ISA proudly hosted the ISA-supported symposium at ECO 2017.

The participation of worldwide renowned academic experts in the ISA-sponsored symposium who presented the latest scientific evidence including their recent research work on low calorie sweeteners’ effects on food and energy intake and diabetes, and on the psychological determinants of consumption behaviour, contributed to a very insightful and strong scientific programme.

The ISA-sponsored symposium at ECO 2017 took place on Friday, 19th May 2017 at 13.15-14.45, which we hope you found interesting and enabled you to be informed on latest research on the field of low calorie sweeteners.

Title: “Low calorie sweeteners’ effects on energy intake and diabetes, and psychological determinants of consumption behaviour: What the latest evidence shows.”

  • 13.15 – Opening
    by chair Prof Maria Hassapidou, Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki (Greece)
  • 13.20 – Low calorie sweeteners: Do they have a role in the fight against diabetes?
    Dr John Sievenpiper, University of Toronto (Canada)
  • 13.40 – Psychological determinants of consumption of low-calorie sweetened (LCS) beverages
    Dr Charlotte Hardman, University of Liverpool (UK)
  • 14.00 – Effects of acute or long-term consumption of beverages containing low calorie sweeteners on energy intake and food behaviour
    Prof Marc Fantino, University of Burgundy (France)
  • 14.20 – Panel discussion

More information about the ISA symposium can be found in the downloadable leaflet here.

Being the most important annual scientific event on obesity in Europe, the European Congress on Obesity (ECO) aims to provide an annual forum for the dissemination of information about research advances in the field of obesity and to debate and promote innovative preventive and treatment strategies to reduce the prevalence of obesity and related diseases.

This year, the 24th European Congress on Obesity took place in the city of Porto, Portugal, from 17th to 20th May 2017, and attracted over 1,600 experts and opinion leaders in the area of obesity covering a wide range of professions.