Americans Drinking More and Drinking More High-Calorie Beverages

[Guest guest]

Some readers might find the following information

helpful.

I find that most patients fail to take into

consideration calories found in drinks when describing

their diet. " Doc, i really do not eat that much! " .

Ralph Giarnella MD

Southington Ct USA

Americans Drinking More and Drinking More High-Calorie

Beverages

By Mann, Contributing Writer, MedPage Today

Reviewed by Jasmer, MD; Associate Clinical

Professor of Medicine, University of California, San

Francisco

November 21, 2007

CHAPEL HILL, N.C., Nov. 21 -- The number of calories

that adults obtain from beverages each day nearly

doubled from 1965 through 2002, and calories from

soda, fruit drinks, alcohol, and other sugary drinks

quadrupled, researchers here said.

Action Points

Explain to interested patients that many beverages,

including sugary sodas, fruit drinks, and alcohol are

high in calories and can contribute to obesity and

health problems related to obesity.

Explain that adults have been consuming more and more

calories from sugary beverages and are not eating less

food to compensate for the increase in calories.

And those extra calories are not being compensated for

by a decrease in food intake, reported Barry M.

Popkin, Ph.D., and Kiyah J. Duffey, both of the

University of North Carolina, in the November issue of

Obesity.

The researchers analyzed data from the Nationwide Food

Consumption Surveys (1965, 1977 to 1978) and the

National Health and Nutrition Surveys (1988 to 1994,

1999 to 2002) to quantify both trends and patterns in

beverage consumption among 46,576 American adults 19

and older.

For six broad beverage groups they calculated the

total energy intake, percent consuming such beverages,

and calories per consumer, and determined total intake

in fluid ounces for each beverage group during each

exam year.

In addition, they used cluster analysis to identify 5

different groups of individuals who had similar

patterns of beverage consumption and compared the

beverages those groups drank in 1977 and 2002 to

determine if the combinations had changed.

From 1965 through 2002, the total daily per capita

intake of calories from beverages increased 94%, which

translates into an average of 21% of daily energy

intake or an additional 222 calories from all

beverages daily among U.S. adults.

In 1965, the percentage of calories consumed from

beverages was 11.8%. In 1977, that percentage had

risen to 14.2%; it jumped to 18.5% in 1988 and to 21%

in 2002. Overall, the number of calories from

beverages increased from 236 calories per person per

day in 1965 to 458 calories per day in 2002 (P0.01).

Intake of sugary drinks, including soda, fruit drinks,

and sweetened tea and coffee increased from 50

calories per person per day in 1965 to 203 in 2002

(P0.01), and alcohol consumption rose from 26 calories

per person per day to 99 (P0.01).

" Beverages are now contributing a greater number of

total calories to daily intake and represent a larger

proportion of daily caloric intake than at any other

time in the past, " the researchers said.

Consumption patterns also changed over the study

period. For instance, in 1965 only 4.9% of respondents

reported drinking low-fat milk and 64.7% said they

drank whole milk. In 2002, whole-milk consumption was

down, with just 39.4% drinking it, and the percentage

of low-fat milk drinkers increased to 18.6%.

Similarly, consumption of water and sports drinks

wasn't even measured in 1965, but in 2002, 89% of

respondents reported drinking water and 1.5% reported

drinking sports drinks.

Interpretation of the study results should be viewed

cautiously, the authors said, because methods of

collecting the data changed over the course of the

four surveys.

Other limitations include the fact that data was

collected over just one season in 1965 and systematic

under-reporting is possible, particularly among

individuals who are overweight.

But, " for the average American, beverages represent a

significant source of excess calories providing, for

the most part, little added nutritional benefit above

what would be obtained by consuming whole foods, " the

researchers conclude. " While children are mostly

targeted for policies regarding access to various

beverages the present study shows that this is also a

salient issue for adults. "

The study was supported by Unilever Health Institute.

Neither of the study authors reported any conflicts of

interest.

Primary source: Obesity

Source reference:

Duffey K, Popkin B, " Shifts in patterns and

consumption of beverages between 1965 and 2002 "

Obesity 2007.