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NEW YORK - Calorie-counters might be wise to trade in their regular fizzy drink for a diet version, a study suggests.
In tests involving 33 adults, researchers at Pennsylvania State University found that diners ate as much food when they were given a sugary soft drink as they did when they drank water or a diet fizzy drink.
As a result, their calorie count jumped when they had the sugar-sweetened drink. On average, volunteers downed 128 calories from a "small" 350ml fizzy drink and 151 calories from a 530ml portion.
Other studies have found that people fail to "compensate" for high-calorie drinks by eating less food than they otherwise would have.
And sugary soft drinks aren't the only culprits.
"It's not just soda," said Dr Barbara Rolls, a professor of nutritional sciences at Pennsylvania State University and the senior author of the latest study.
"A caloric beverage is going to add calories to your meal."
She said that people looking to cut calories should first keep a record of their diet for a few days, then see where they can trim beverage calories.
This is a good first step, according to Professor Rolls, because cutting out beverages can be easier than eating less.
Water and diet soft drinks are some calorie-free options, but people can also reduce calories by adding water to their juice, or simply having a small fizzy drink instead of a large one, Professor Rolls said.
The study findings, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, are based on experiments with 18 women and 15 men.
Each week, the researchers gave them the same food, but the beverage alternated between water, diet fizzy drinks and regular fizzy drinks. Each was served in either a 350ml or 530ml portion.
In general, the researchers found the diners ate roughly the same amount at each meal, regardless of which drink was served. And the bigger the beverage, the more they drank.
When men were given the 530ml regular soda, they downed 26 per cent more liquid calories than they did when they had the smaller soda. For women, the larger drink increased their liquid calories by 10 per cent.
Professor Rolls said a "big question" right now in nutrition research was how the body's regulation of liquid calories may differ from that of solid food.
Hunger and thirst are controlled by separate mechanisms in the body, she said.
- REUTERS
