In the absence of a random assignment study, they cannot definitively state that consuming artificial sugar makes people eat more. What they would need to do is a double-blind study where participants were given either drinks sweetened with sugar or drinks sweetened with aspartame, but not told what they were getting. They could then compare whether those people who got the drinks sweetened with aspartame compensated for the lower number of calories in the drink by consuming more of other foods through-out the day. Without a study like that, all they have shown is that people who are worried about their weight and drink sugar-free sodas because of that, have more weight problems than people who don't worry about their weight and drink sugared sodas!

That said, I have found that I cannot lose weight if I consume artificial sweeteners. I don't like diet sodas, so if I do eat artificial sweeteners it tends to be in conjunction with lowcarb ice cream or candy. Those foods have lots of empty calories and push my calorie levels up to maintenance. I don't gain, but I don't lose either. To lose weight, I need to focus on eating whole, natural foods that are nutrient dense -- vegetables, berries, meat, fish, poultry, cheese, eggs, etc. As soon as I add empty calories (including empty calories that contain artificial sugar), I stop losing.