Does Aspartame Cause Autism?


Have you ever wondered how diet sodas can be so sweet, without all the calories found

in regular sodas? This is usually due to the use of artificial sweeteners. One common

artificial sweetener is aspartame. Aspartame is hugely popular as a sugar substitute in

products like diet soda. In the past, it has generally been regarded as safe, but

aspartame has recently become the subject of scrutiny in the media. One example of

this is an article in Fox News, titled “Aspartame and autism: Drinking diet soda amid

pregnancy linked to diagnosis in male offspring, says study” (Rudy 2023). This article

cites a recent study that has linked the consumption of aspartame by pregnant mothers

to autism in their male children.


This article is a clear example of bad science. The sensational title alone may lead

people to believe that aspartame causes autism in children. Based on the article, this is

not true. This Fox News article even acknowledges that this is merely the initial results

of a study, and there are no current reasons to suggest a causal relationship between

autism and aspartame consumption. The study cited simply presents a correlation

between the two variables, and it is too early to make bold claims, as the title does. This

study is made even more unreliable when it is introduced that the pregnant mothers'

aspartame consumption data was collected several years after their pregnancies. Most

people can't even remember what they had for breakfast, let alone recall their daily diet

soda intake from years prior. This significantly weakens the scientific credibility of the

study. Additionally, this study did not take into account other factors that may increase

the chances of autism in children, such as geriatric pregnancies. Overall, this study

relies on shady data and does not seem to take key factors into consideration. This

article serves only to scare people into believing that a perfectly safe sugar alternative is

actually harmful.


Anya Quaglietta (4)


Rudy, M. (2023, September 24). Aspartame and autism: Drinking diet soda amid

pregnancy linked to diagnosis in male offspring, says study. Fox News.

https://www.foxnews.com/health/aspartame-autism-drinking-diet-soda-amid-

pregnancy-linked-diagnosis-male-offspring-study

Comments

  1. Madeline GouldOctober 25, 2023 at 7:30 AM

    This is very intereting, I had also read about aspartame and I think that articles are very quick to make bold claims about its effects, whether it be causing cancer or autism, both of which can be caused by many other things. Articles make these titles with scary words to create a shock appeal from the audience, yet what they actually do is spread misinformation to people who don't read more than the headline.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousOctober 25, 2023 at 9:32 AM

      Hello Madeline. I definitely agree that these kind of sensational titles are dangerous. We live in a fast paced society, and sometimes people read titles and skim articles but don’t understand the nuances. This is clearly bad science posing as a breakthrough study. Hopefully we can begin to avoid these harmful practices in the future!

      -Anya Quaglietta

      Delete
  2. AnonymousOctober 25, 2023 at 7:31 AM

    Hi Anya! Thanks so much for sharing this. It's crazy how media outlets will prioritize sensationalizing anything to get views over sharing facts. It's all too common to see data points in new studies being skewed and reported in ways that are "technically correct" with how they're correlated but wildly off about what those results truly mean.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Megan WinklerOctober 25, 2023 at 7:32 AM

      That was me ^^ Megan Winkler

      Delete
  3. Donna RossOctober 25, 2023 at 7:46 AM

    Hi Anya! This article is wild. This is a very good example of bad science, and I've noticed that a lot of bold accusations being made about aspartame, especially as it is being hyper-focused on now in the media. I like how you mentioned that the article doesn't take into account factors such as geriatric pregnancies, and that the data they provide is invalid due to the fact that people cannot statistically remember their soda intake years and years ago. I wonder if there is any genuine research with negative correlations associated with aspartame specifically?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousOctober 25, 2023 at 9:29 AM

      Hi Donna. Thank you for your feedback! Aspartame is definitely in the public eye lately. I think it was sparked by some recent studies classifying it as a possible carcinogen. After that, it has been portrayed in a very negative light. It important that good research is done, and then we can decide for sure if aspartame has any impacts.

      -Anya Quaglietta

      Delete
  4. AnonymousOctober 25, 2023 at 9:18 AM

    Hey Anya! It's crazy to think that even after the ''research'' done on autism and vaccines, some scientists are still trying to force out false or underdeveloped research about what causes autism. An unfortunate reality is that so many people manipulate their data to fit what they want or their own political beliefs. I hope someday we stop trying to push data that isn't completely true onto families.
    Alexis Carson

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    Replies
    1. AnonymousOctober 25, 2023 at 9:35 AM

      Hi Alexis! Thanks for sharing your feedback. I also am shocked that they could even release this article with such underdeveloped research. It definitely highlights how media outlets are driven by posting articles that attract an audience, even if it is not true. I try to be critical of articles like this so I can avoid getting tricked by sloppy data.

      -Anya Quaglietta

      Delete
  5. Haley SampsonOctober 25, 2023 at 9:05 PM

    Anya, awesome writing!!! I have been hearing about this fallacy a lot, and I am glad people are beginning to understand that aspartame is not a property that causes all of these crazy disorders and illnesses. I also love Diet Coke and am happy to hear that aspartame in Diet Coke does not cause cancer!!! Awesome work

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousOctober 26, 2023 at 2:10 PM

    Hi Anya,
    I agree with your assessment of this article. It is evident that the sensational title is meant to grab attention and create fear, rather than accurately represent the study's findings. It is important for readers to critically analyze the information presented and not jump to conclusions based on a single study. Correlation does not mean that one variable causes the other to occur. The fact that the data on aspartame consumption was collected years after the pregnancies raises significant concerns about its accuracy and reliability. Additionally, the study's failure to consider other factors that may contribute to autism in children undermines its credibility. It is essential to approach such studies with skepticism and rely on a body of scientific evidence before making bold claims. There are many suggested mechanisms that propose how aspartame is broken down and affects neurotransmitter release and neurotransmitter levels in the brain. I found a study on mice showing that consumption of aspartame at doses 7-15% of the maximum human intake can have learning and memory effects on male mice. These effects can be heritable to male and female offspring in the first generation from the parental lineage. However, other studies also have found no significant correlation between both variables.
    -Carla B

    ReplyDelete

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