Research
Energy balance
Eliminating sugar-sweetened beverages reduces body weight in adolescents and children.
If you are an adolescent or child, or if you are helping one, stop drinking sugary beverages. This simple change has been shown in large trials to reduce body weight over 1-1.5 years.
StrongSupportsHIGH confidence
two large randomised controlled trials found that elimination of sugary drinks reduced body weight among adolescents at one year and among younger children at 18 months.
Why this rating
Supported by large RCTs.
Source
Dietary carbohydrates: role of quality and quantity in chronic disease
David S. Ludwig et al. · BMJ · 2018
DOI 10.1136/bmj.k2340
narrative_reviewCited 321×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Replacing processed carbohydrates (high GI/GL grains, potatoes, added sugars) with unprocessed carbohydrates (whole grains, legumes, whole fruits) or healthy fats reduces the risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.Good
- People with severe insulin resistance or diabetes may benefit from reducing total carbohydrate intake.Moderate
Related findings · Energy balance
- Achieving a total body weight loss of 10-15% (or >10-15 kg) through Total Diet Replacement (TDR) induces remission of Type 2 Diabetes in individuals with short-duration disease.Strong
- Bariatric surgery is superior to medical management alone for inducing significant long-term weight loss, remission of type 2 diabetes, and reduction in mortality for patients with BMI ≥ 40 or ≥ 35 with comorbidities.Strong
- Achieving type 2 diabetes remission requires significant weight loss (≥15 kg) via major caloric restriction, independent of macronutrient composition.Strong
This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →