People Gain Most of Their Weight From Liquid Food And Beverages

Scientists from USA had recently discovered the main cause of extraweight gain. They proved that fatness and obesity are more related to "liquid" calories, especially to drinks containing sugar, than to calories from solid food. This is the first research in which scientists compared the influence of liquid and solid calories on human weight and especially on weight loss. Their work will be published in May in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

American researchers began studying the influence of calories from liquid and solid food on human weight and came to several conclusions. First of all, a decreased consumption of liquid calories significantly helped lose extra pounds in participants who took part in the experiment. Secondly, the effects from decreasing the consumption of liquid calories were stronger than the ones from decreasing the consumption of solid calories. Thirdly, the biggest weight loss was observed when decreasing the consumption of sugar drinks. Other drinks didn't influence human weight changes.

The research included 819 participants – men and women aged from 25 to 79. After 6 months from the beginning of the research and 18 months later, they used to give information about their nutrition in an interview on telephone. The drinks they consumed were divided in 7 categories:

1. Drinks containing sugar (soda drinks, juice drinks etc).
2. Diet drinks (drinks with sugar substitutes).
3. Milk.
4. 100 per cent natural juice.
5. Coffee and tea with sugar.
6. Coffee and tea without sugar or with sugar substitutes.
7. Alcoholic drinks.

The researchers propose several possible explanations for their discoveries. The absence of chewing while consuming liquid food can lead to the lowering of the pancreatic activity. Liquid food is also quicker removed from the stomach, in comparison with the solid one, and this leads to the weakening of satiety signals.

"Our research had strengthened the recommendations of Health Security bodies referred to decreasing liquid calories' consumption, especially the one of sugar drinks", researchers concluded.

Posted by summer_rain