What you Drink Is Most Important, if You’re Overweight
Thu, April 30, 2009 at 02:00AM . . . According to a Johns Hopkins study, it can be more important than what you eat. A report in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition tells the story.
The analyses were made on data from the PREMIER clinical trial, which was an 18-month randomized study comparing three lifestyle interventions on blood-pressure levels in 810 subjects with pre-hypertension: a behavioral change using established recommendations of weight loss, exercise, and reduced sodium and alcohol intake; a second intervention using both the previous measures plus the DASH (dietary approaches to stop hypertension) diet; and a comparison group that received advice only. Height, weight, and 24-hour dietary-recall were made at baseline, 6, and 18 months. The food questionnaire had 7 types of beverages for classification purposes.
At baseline, the average intake of calories-as-liquids was 356 per day (19% of the total daily intake). A reduction in liquid calorie intake of 100 calories a day was associated with a weight loss of 0.55 lb at 6 months and 0.53 lb at 18 months. This was a greater effect on weight loss than a reduction in solid calories.
A different analysis showed a reduction of one serving of sugar-sweetened beverages was associated with an average weight loss of 1.1 lb at 6 months and 1.5 lb at 18 months. This type of beverage was the only one (of seven) that was significantly linked to weight change; it was the most frequent source of liquid calories among the 7 (at 37%).
These results play into the hands of those health minders who would like to put a small tax on sugar-containing drinks. (After all, taxation has worked over the years in reducing cigarette consumption.) Others believe raw sugar itself should be taxed, before incorporation into foodstuffs and drinks. To my mind, there should be no governmental involvement in trying to limit people’s choices; better, by far, would be improved education on the benefits of wise health choices.
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