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. 2013 Oct 2:122:129-33.
doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2013.09.004. Epub 2013 Sep 14.

Beverages contribute extra calories to meals and daily energy intake in overweight and obese women

Bradley M Appelhans  1 , Maria E Bleil, Molly E Waring, Kristin L Schneider, Lisa M Nackers, Andrew M Busch, Matthew C Whited, Sherry L Pagoto
Affiliations

Beverages contribute extra calories to meals and daily energy intake in overweight and obese women

Bradley M Appelhans et al. Physiol Behav. .

Abstract

Caloric beverages may promote obesity by yielding energy without producing satiety, but prior laboratory and intervention studies are inconclusive. This study examined whether the diets of free-living overweight and obese women show evidence that calories from beverages are offset by reductions in solid food within individual eating occasions and across entire days. Eighty-two women weighed and recorded all consumed foods and beverages for seven days. Beverages were coded as high-calorie (≥ 0.165 kcal/g) or low-calorie (<0.165 kcal/g), and total energy intake and energy intake from solid food were calculated for each eating occasion and day. In covariate-adjusted models, energy intake from solid food did not differ between eating occasions that included high-calorie or low-calorie beverages and those with no reported beverage. Energy intake from solid food was also unrelated to the number of high-calorie or low-calorie beverages consumed per day. On average, eating occasions that included a high-calorie beverage were 169 kcal higher in total energy than those with no reported beverage, and 195 kcal higher in total energy than those that included a low-calorie beverage. Each high-calorie beverage consumed per day contributed an additional 147 kcal to women's daily energy intake, whereas low-calorie beverage intake was unrelated to daily energy intake. Beverages contributed to total energy intake in a near-additive fashion among free-living overweight and obese women, suggesting a need to develop more effective interventions to reduce caloric beverage intake in the context of weight management, and to potentially reexamine dietary guidelines.

Keywords: Beverages; Dietary compensation; Food form; Obesity; Satiety.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Histogram of the energy densities of reported beverages with Parzen window kernel density estimation. Based on this distribution, beverages with an energy density less than or equal to 0.165 kcal/g were categorized as low-calorie beverages, whereas those above 0.165 kcal/g were categorized as high-calorie beverages. Representative beverages at various energy densities are noted in the key. A=Diet soda, unsweetened tea/coffee (0.00 – 0.010 kcal/g, 136 observations) B=Lightly sweetened tea/coffee (0.011 – 0.165 kcal/g, 118 observations) C=Sweetened tea/coffee, vegetable juice, non-fat milk (0.166 – 0.363 kcal/g, 166 observations) D=Regular soda, fruit juice, juice drinks, 1% and 2% fat milk (0.364 – 0.599 kcal/g, 348 observations) E=Whole fat milk, chocolate milk, coffee-based beverages (0.600 – 0.799 kcal/g, 32 observations) F=Wine, mixed alcoholic beverages (0.800 – 1.219 kcal/g, 37 observations) G=Fruit smoothies (1.220 – 1.250 kcal/g, 5 observations) H=Mixed alcoholic beverages (1.251 – 1.714 kcal/g, 5 observations) I=Mixed alcoholic beverages, coconut milk (1.715 – 2.299 kcal/g, 5 observations)
Figure 2
Figure 2
Energy intake per eating occasion based on type of beverage consumed. Eating occasions with high-calorie, but not low-calorie, beverages were higher in total energy than those with no reported beverage. Type of beverage consumed was unrelated to energy obtained from solid food. Graph shows covariate-adjusted means ±SE.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Daily energy intake by number of high-calorie and low-calorie beverages consumed that day. Each additional high-calorie beverage contributed an additional 147 kcal to total daily energy intake, compared to 39 kcal per additional low-calorie beverage. Graph shows covariate-adjusted means ± SE.
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