Research
Macro partitioning
Sugary beverages contribute to weight gain and adverse metabolic effects (visceral/liver fat) when added to the diet, but replacing sugar calories with other carbohydrates does not change body weight.
Cutting sugary drinks helps you lose about 2-3 kg, but only because you are removing calories. If you replace those calories with other foods, you won't lose weight. Focus on the total calorie reduction, not just the sugar.
GoodQualifiesMEDIUM confidence
In summary, the evidence is that adding a calorie source such as sugar will cause weight gain and adverse metabolic effects, cutting a calorie source such as sugar or sugar sweetened drinks reduces weight gain by 2-3 kg, but there is no detectable sugar specific effect on body weight, because body weight does not change when sugar is removed from the diet and replaced with the same calories from other carbohydrates.
Why this rating
Based on meta-analyses and RCTs cited, though observational data is noted as potentially confounded.
Source
Making progress on the global crisis of obesity and weight management
Michael E. J. Lean et al. · BMJ · 2018
DOI 10.1136/bmj.k2538
narrative_reviewCited 72×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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