Energy balance
In free-living adults consuming ad libitum diets, reducing intake of free sugars or sugar-sweetened beverages causes a statistically significant decrease in body weight, while increasing intake causes a comparable increase.
If you are eating freely without strict calorie counting, reducing your intake of free sugars (added sugars, honey, syrups, fruit juices) will likely lead to modest weight loss (approx. 0.8 kg), while increasing it will lead to weight gain. This happens because sugar does not make you feel full enough to compensate for the calories, leading to higher total energy intake. Replacing sugary drinks with water or unsweetened alternatives is the most effective lever.
In trials of adults with ad libitum diets (that is, with no strict control of food intake), reduced intake of dietary sugars was associated with a decrease in body weight (0.80 kg, 95% confidence interval 0.39 to 1.21; P<0.001); increased sugars intake was associated with a comparable weight increase (0.75 kg, 0.30 to 1.19; P=0.001).
Why this rating
High-quality meta-analysis of RCTs, though some heterogeneity and potential publication bias were noted.
Source
Dietary sugars and body weight: systematic review and meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials and cohort studies
Lisa Te Morenga et al. · BMJ · 2012
DOI 10.1136/bmj.e7492
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