Low-cal drinks and snacks made with artificial sweeteners are just as likely to cause diabetes and obesity as foods filled with plain old sugar, a new study confirms.

　　一项新研究证实，用人造甜味剂制作的低卡路里饮料和零食与富含普通糖的食物一样，会导致糖尿病和肥胖。

　　Researchers wanted to better understand why rates of obesity and diabetes continue to rise, despite the availability of so many sugar alternatives. So they examined the effects of both sugar and common sugar substitutes on two groups of lab rats.

　　研究人员想要更好地理解为什么尽管有这么多的糖替代品，肥胖症和糖尿病的发病率还是继续上升。因此，他们研究了糖和普通糖替代品对两组实验鼠的影响。

　　After just three weeks, both sets of critters exhibited a decline in health.

　　仅仅三周后，两组动物的健康状况都下降了。

　　The team found that rats that had consumed the artificial sweeteners developed problems with the way they processed and stored fat. Moreover, the ones who had gorged on one artificial sweetener — acesulfame potassium, used in gum and baked goods — experienced a nasty buildup of the chemical in the blood vessels.

　　研究小组发现，食用人工甜味剂的老鼠处理和储存脂肪的方式出现了问题。此外，那些吃了很多安赛蜜钾的老鼠血管中积累了令人恶心的化学物质，安赛蜜钾是一种用于口香糖和烘焙食品的人造甜味剂。

　　But that doesn’t mean that artificial sweeteners are necessarily worse for you.

　　但这并不意味着人工甜味剂对你的危害一定更大。

　　“It is not as simple as ‘stop using artificial sweeteners,’” lead researcher Brian Hoffmann, an assistant professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin and Marquette University, says in a press release. No matter how the flavor gets delivered, he says, a sweets-heavy diet is a hazard to your health.

　　“这并不是‘停止使用人工甜味剂’那么简单。”首席研究员布莱恩.霍夫曼在新闻发布会上说，他是威斯康辛和马奎特大学医学院的助理教授。他说，无论味道如何传递，饮食过甜对健康都是有害的。

　　Instead of swapping one saccharine food for another, he suggests cutting back on sweet eats altogether if you’re concerned about obesity or diabetes. “Moderation is the key,” he says.

　　他建议，如果你担心肥胖或糖尿病，要减少甜食的摄入，而不是把一种含糖食物换成另一种。“适度是关键。”他说。