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Replacing a single soda or beer with water daily reduces risk for obesity
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Exchanging one serving of sugar-sweetened soft drink or one beer each day for a glass of water can lower the risk for obesity by 20%, according to data presented at the European Congress on Obesity.
Researchers from the University of Navarra and CIBER-OBN, Carlos III Institute of Health in Spain, led by Ujué Fresán, PhD, examined whether substituting one sugar-sweetened soft drink or beer with one serving of water each day affected incidence of obesity. They followed 15,765 adults included in the Seguimmiento Universidad de Navarra cohort who were not obese at study initiation for an average of 8.5 years. Every 2 years, they updated the information on weight. Using a validated food-frequency questionnaire, they assessed the intake of 17 beverages at baseline. These beverages included: whole, reduced-fat and skim milk; milkshake; red wine; other wine; beer; spirits; sugar-sweetened soda; diet soda; regular coffee; decaffeinated coffee; fresh orange juice; fresh non-orange fruit juice; bottled juice; tap water and bottled water.
In total, 873 participants became obese during follow-up. Analysis found that drinking one glass of water instead of a beer or sugar-sweetened soft drink reduced the risk for obesity by 20% (OR = 0.8; 95% CI, 0.68-0.94]) and 15% (OR = 0.85; 95% CI, 0.75-0.97) after adjusting for confounding factors. Modelling for the consumption of water instead of beer also showed a higher average weight loss of 0.3 kg over 4 years. The investigators also observed no difference in obesity risk when exchanging any of the other 15 beverages for water.
“Nevertheless, longitudinal investigations based on real interventions are needed to confirm these potential effects,” Fresán said in a press release. “As obesity carries a high risk for the development of other diseases like diabetes or cardiovascular disease, the possible effects of substituting these beverages with water is an important target to consider in future public health research.” – by Savannah Demko
References:
Fresan U, et al. Abstract T2P147. Presented at: European Congress on Obesity; May 17-20, 2017; Porgo, Portugal.
Disclosures: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.