Cadbury is developing low sugar chocolate bars

Many people use low- or no-calorie sweeteners in place of sugar. They can be found in a variety of goods, including as desserts, prepared foods, beverages, chewing gum, and toothpaste.

Since the World Health Organisation (WHO) suggested avoiding sweeteners for weight control, Cadbury is "working hard" to produce alternative 75% less sugar, fat, and calorie versions of its goods.

The well-known chocolate company first disclosed last year that it was working on developing new goods and launching low-calorie versions of some of its current chocolate bars and biscuits.

Owner of the brand in the US, Mondelez, said in a statement to Sky News: "We have no plans to change the original recipe of the existing bars, but we believe it's important to give consumers choice."

The Sunday Telegraph quoted Mondelez CEO Dirk van de Put as saying, "It will expand very slowly, like diet drinks, but we need to maintain it on the market.

It will take an extended period before the consumer truly realises that the flavour is still not exactly the same, though it is improving.

It comes after the WHO advised against the use of sweets for weight management.

In place of sugar, low- or no-calorie sweeteners are used to sweeten a variety of meals and beverages. To avoid becoming overweight or obese, many people also use non-sugar sweeteners (NSS) as a sugar substitute in their own food and beverages.

The use of sweeteners "does not confer any long-term benefit in reducing body fat in adults or children," according to a recent WHO report. A Dairy Milk chocolate bar with 30% less sugar was previously introduced by Cadbury. But consumers did not seem to like the product.

Belvita biscuits and Maynards Bassetts Wine Gums were two further goods to follow suit.

Although short-term use of NSS may result in modest weight loss, the WHO warned that long-term usage of the supplement may have "undesirable effects" like an elevated risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular illnesses, and death.

Francesco Branca, director for nutrition and food safety at the WHO, emphasised that NSS are not nutritionally valuable and are not required dietary components.

"People should think about alternative approaches to reduce their intake of free sugars, such as consuming sweetened naturally items like fruit or unsweetened food and beverages.

People should drastically reduce their intake of sugar in their diet, starting early in life, in order to improve their health. Data from 283 studies involving adults, children, pregnant women, or mixed populations were examined by the organisation.

It thus published a new conditional recommendation advising people to refrain from using NSS to regulate body weight or lower the risk of non-communicable (non-infectious) diseases, with the exception of those who have diabetes.

However, authors stated that more study is required.

Dr. Duane Mellor, a senior lecturer at Aston Medical School and a certified dietician, stated that sweeteners might still be used as a "stepping stone" to assist patients cut back on their consumption of sugar.