Weight Gain Linked to Consumption of Liquids
By Richard Shank
Researchers at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center recently demonstrated that weight gain and obesity are linked to liquid calories more than calories from solid food.
The researchers followed more than 800 men and women, ages 25 to 79, for a period of one to one-and-a-half years, tracking the dietary intake of each individual and subsequent weight change during the study period.
The principle finding was that a loss in weight occurred mostly for those individuals who reduced their liquid calorie intake. Furthermore, weight loss was more likely to occur by cutting liquid calories than by cutting calories from solid foods. These findings were especially true for those who reduced their intake of sugar-sweetened beverages.
Today, Americans consume 150 to 300 more calories a day than they did just 30 years ago, with 50% of this increase related to the increased consumption of liquids, especially sugar-sweetened drinks. Epidemiologists project that nearly 75% of U.S. citizens will be obese by 2015, if dietary and lifestyle patterns like these do not change. By focusing on reducing high-calorie liquids from the diet, it will help augment efforts to curb rising obesity.
Source: Liwei Chen, Lawrence J Appel, Catherine Loria, Pao-Hwa Lin, Catherine M Champagne, Patricia J Elmer, Jamy D Ard, Diane Mitchell, Bryan C Batch, Laura P Svetkey, and Benjamin Caballero 2009. Reduction in consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages is associated with weight loss: the PREMIER trial. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 89: 1299-1306.
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