Research

Energy balance

Higher consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) is positively associated with increased body weight and BMI in both children and adults, based on prospective cohort studies and randomized controlled trials.

To manage weight, reduce or eliminate sugar-sweetened beverages. The evidence shows a consistent positive link between SSB intake and weight gain/BMI in both children and adults. Replacing SSBs with water or other non-caloric beverages is a recommended public health strategy.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Prospective cohort studies (96%; n = 26) showed a positive association between consumption of SSBs and weight/BMI in adults and children (n = 242,352)... Findings from three RCTs in children demonstrated that SSB consumption had an effect on BMI/BMI z-score.
Maria Luger et al. · Obesity Facts · 2017

Why this rating

Based on 30 studies including large cohort samples (n > 240,000) and multiple RCTs, though one adult RCT showed no significant effect.

Source

Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and Weight Gain in Children and Adults: A Systematic Review from 2013 to 2015 and a Comparison with Previous Studies

Maria Luger et al. · Obesity Facts · 2017

DOI 10.1159/000484566

systematic_review · n=244651Cited 308×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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