Research
Adherence
Sugar-sweetened beverages promote weight gain more effectively than solid sugar or artificial sweeteners due to poor compensation of liquid calories.
Avoid sugar-sweetened beverages. They promote weight gain because your body does not compensate for liquid calories as it does for solid food. Choose water or artificial sweeteners if you need a sweet drink.
LimitedSupportsMEDIUM confidence
intervention studies show that sugar in drinks is more likely to produce weight gain than solid sugar in foods.
Why this rating
Based on intervention trials and observational studies, categorized as 'A' evidence for the specific claim about drinks.
Source
Low-fat diets and energy balance: how does the evidence stand in 2002?
Arne Astrup et al. · Proceedings of The Nutrition Society · 2002
DOI 10.1079/pns2002149
narrative_reviewCited 107×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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