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BOB HIRSHON (host):
Laying off liquid calories. I’m Bob Hirshon and this is Science Update.
If you need to watch what you eat, you might start by watching what you drink. This according to Louisiana State University epidemiologist Liwei Chen. She and her colleagues studied over 800 adults trying to lose weight. They found that cutting calories from beverages resulted in more weight loss than an equivalent cut in solid food calories. Chen says the effect was driven by sugary soft drinks, not other caloric beverages like milk or even pure fruit juice.
LIWEI CHEN (Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center):
We do not totally understand why, but we suspect several reasons may contribute to that.
HIRSHON:
She says other nutrients in the healthier drinks may make you feel fuller – or perhaps, people just don’t over-consume milk and juice in the same way. It’s yet more evidence that soft drinks are a major contributor to obesity. I’m Bob Hirshon for AAAS, the Science Society.