Yes, it's true. Not only do artificial sweeteners inspire higher food intakes, but they cause more weight gain for the same caloric intake.
http://www.drbriffa.com/2012/12/21/arti ... n-animals/Rats eating the artificially sweetened yoghurt ate more chow than those eating the sugar-sweetened yoghurt. In the end, overall calorie intakes were the same. This suggests that when reduced-calorie foodstuffs are consumed, there can be a natural drive to seek those ‘missing’ calories elsewhere.
What was really interesting about this study, though, was that the rats consuming artificial sweetener gained weight at a rate faster than those eating the sugar. But the calorie intakes were essentially the same, meaning that change in weight could not be explained by differences in food intake. The authors cite another study from 2010 which essentially found the same thing [3].
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