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Design of a Publishable Article for Professional Interaction and Writing Skills in Nutrition

The Calories Youre Not Eating Might Be Making You Fat


Written by: Christine Benson

As

anyone who has

struggled with weight will tell


you, dieting can be extremely
difficult. Avoiding foods that
are high in fat or sugar can feel
like torture, and weight loss is
often a long process with slowto-develop results. But what if
the key to weight loss lay not
only in what youre eating, but
also what youre drinking?
Without realizing it, you may
be consuming a significant
portion of extra calories every
day not just through unhealthy
foods, but also unhealthy
beverages. In fact, according
to a 2005 report released by
the Center for Science in the
Public Interest, carbonated
soft drinks are the single
biggest source of calories in
the American diet (Jacobson,
2005, p. 1).

When

we think of

unhealthy foods best avoided


while dieting, we often include
a long list of high sugar foods
like brownies, cookies, cakes,
and candies. What too often
doesnt make the list are
beverages that can be just as
high or even higher in sugar.
These include sodas, sports
drinks, energy drinks, juiceflavored beverages, or ready-

to-drink iced coffees and teas.


Unlike foods, these drinks
often have little to no
nutritional value and can
contribute as much or more
empty calories than the foods
we avoid. According to the
USDAs Supertracker (a free
diet tracking tool offered
through the MyPlate website),
the average two-inch brownie
square has 129 calories and 12
grams of sugar. Thats equal to
four teaspoons. In a 2012
study assessing the impact of a
penny-per-ounce tax on sugarsweetened beverages (SSBs),
researchers found that the
average 20 ounce bottle of
SSBs has nearly 17 teaspoons
of sugar; thats 272 calories
from sugar alone (Wang,
Coxson, Shen, Goldman, &
Bibbins-Domingo, 2012, p.
199). In fact, many SSBs have
more sugar per serving than
infamous
sugary
treats,
earning them the nickname
liquid candy.
A Sample of High Sugar Foods
Food
1 Snickers Bar
1 bag of plain M&Ms
1 Twinkie
1 Swiss Cake Roll
1 Chocolate Donut
1 Cup of Froot Loops
1 Choc Chip Cookie

Sugar

29g
27g
16g
15g
13g
12g
5g

Kcal
280
236
135
160
175
112
68

(Data from www.supertracker.usda.gov)

A Sample of Sugar-Sweetened
Beverages
Fl oz

20
16
20
16
13
20
20

Sugar
Beverage
Mountain Dew
77g
100% Grape Juice 72g
Pepsi
69g
AMP Energy
58g
Frappuccino
46g
Berry Gatorade
34g
Brisk Iced Tea
33g

Kcal
290
290
250
220
290
130
130

(Data from www.pepsicobeveragefacts.com)

High

sugar and high

calorie content arent the only


dangers that accompany SSBs.
Many researchers agree that
calories in liquid form can be
more detrimental than food
calories due to factors like
appetite satiety and calorie
compensation
(Rippe
&
Saltzman, 2013, p. 528).
Drinking calories instead of
eating them doesnt trigger
the same biological cues that
normally tell us when weve
had
enough,
so
SSB
consumption only adds to our
total intake instead of
replacing some of the calories
we are eating (Brownell et al,
2009, p. 1601). Beverages are
usually consumed in response
to thirst which happens more
often and more consistently
than hunger (Jones, Lee &
Matters,
2014,
p.
51).
Furthermore, we can consume
calories in liquid form much

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Design of a Publishable Article for Professional Interaction and Writing Skills in Nutrition
faster than in food. Take into
consideration
apples,
for
instance. It takes 17 minutes
to consume 500 grams worth
of apples but only 1.5 minutes
to drink the same amount in
apple juice (Graaf, 2011, p.
164). Plus in apple juice, many
of the parts that make us feel
full like the fiber and peel are
removed, causing us to
consume more sugar and
notice it less.

Overconsumption

of

SSBs has become more than


just an individual problem.
Recent legislation like the
attempt to limit portion size of
SSBs in New York and the
passage of a tax in Berkeley
speak to the effect they are
having on our health as a
nation. According to a report
by the American Heart
Association (2015), the U.S.
spends an average of $190
billion on obesity-related
conditions including high
blood pressure, metabolic
syndrome, heart disease,
dyslipidemia, diabetes, and
hypertension. Consumption of
SSBs has been shown to
associate with all these
conditions (Rippe & Saltzman,
2013, p. 528). A Harvard study
of tens of thousands of nurses
found that women who
increased their intake of SSBs
from less than one a week to

one or more per day gained an


average of 18 pounds over 8
years (Jacobson, 2011, p. 11).
In a systematic review of the
literature, SSB consumption
was linked to metabolic
syndrome, type 2 diabetes,
high blood pressure, visceral
and abdominal fat deposition
and cardio-metabolic disease
risk (Malik & Hu, 2011, p.
1161). Estimates are a pennyper-ounce tax nation-wide on
all
SSBs
would
reduce
consumption and prevent
26,000 premature deaths and
save $17 billion in medical
costs (Wang et al, 2012, p.
202).

Reducing SSBs in your


own diet is not only a great
way to cut back calories, but it
can be easier than you think.
Switching from regular to diet
soda is a start, but even diet
soda has been linked to
increased weight gain and
diabetes risk (Nettleton et al,
2009, p. 688). A better
strategy is to eliminate SSBs
and diet sodas from your diet
altogether. One way to do this
is
to
substitute
plain
carbonated water for regular
soda. Investing in a water
carbonating machine for your
home (such as a SodaStream)
will quickly lead to an overall
savings in calories and money.
If plain or carbonated water

tastes too boring, you can add


fresh fruit, mint or other
herbs, or a hefty splash of juice
to give it a little more flavor.
Calorie savings can also come
from making tea and coffee at
home where you can control
the amount of sugar and
calories. Both coffee and tea
are naturally free of calories so
gradually cutting down on the
sugar can ease you into better
lifestyle choices. Perhaps the
most effective strategy comes
from trying to drink more
water. Water is essential for
healthy bodies, and even
though we need between 8-12
cups per day, two-thirds of
Americans arent drinking
enough (Tucker, 2015). By
trying to ensure you get your
two liters you keep your thirst
in check and are less likely to
reach for that liquid candy.

Cutting

back

on

sugar-sweetened beverages is
not only an easy and healthy
way to save calories; its a
reasonable dietary change that
wont leave you hungry. So
the next time you consider
reaching for a can of soda,
grab a glass of water instead.
You might even end up with
enough calorie savings to treat
yourself to that chocolate
brownie.

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Design of a Publishable Article for Professional Interaction and Writing Skills in Nutrition
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