My lunch plans just changed!
Posted on 08/11/2010 7:18:24 AM PDT by decimon
New research from Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, shows that sugary drinks, consumed in moderate quantities, do not promote weight gain, carbohydrate craving or adverse mood effects in overweight women when they do not know what they are drinking.
The study, 'Effects of sucrose drinks on macronutrient intake, body weight, and mood state in overweight women over 4 weeks', which was conducted by Marie Reid, Richard Hammersley and colleagues set out to determine the long-term effects of adding a sucrose drink to the diet of overweight women (BMI 25-30, aged 20 - 55), on dietary intake and mood. The results show that overweight women do not suffer adverse effects, such as weight gain or mood fluctuation, if they do not know whether or not they are drinking a sugary or artificially sweetened drink. Instead women took in fewer calories elsewhere in the diet, to balance the calories in the drinks.
In a single-blind, between-subjects design, soft drinks (4 x 25cl per day; 1800 kJ sucrose sweetened versus 67 kJ aspartame sweetened) were added to the diet of overweight women (n = 53, BMI 25 – 30, age 20 – 55) for 4 weeks. Participants were split into two groups and at the beginning of each week subjects took away 28 bottles of an unidentified drink for that week (4 per day). One group received sucrose (n = 24), the other aspartame (n = 29).
Subjects were instructed to consume the specified amount (25cl) each day at specified times (11:00, 14:00, 18:00, 20:00) and to rate their mood directly after the drink in their 7 day diary. Throughout the 5 week study (week 0 baseline, weeks 1 – 4 experimental), participants were also instructed to eat, drink and exercise as usual. At screening and each subsequent week thereafter, subjects' food diaries were checked and biometric data were obtained.
Mean daily energy intake at baseline (week 0) was 9126.36 kJ (SD 306.28), so the added drinks comprised some 20% of daily energy intake (1,800 kJ). Throughout the study, it was found that the mean increase in energy intake of those taking sucrose drinks between baseline week and week 1 was only 0.5 MJ, and by week 4 participants were consuming no more energy than at baseline. Across both groups it was found that some women in both groups lost, or gained weight, but it was found that there was no consistent trend for sucrose to influence this.
These findings suggest that because it is widely believed that sugary drinks are bad and part of an unhealthy diet, people then go on to behave accordingly. The primary causes of any negative effects of sugar on food choices and mood, may be psychological, and Prof Marie Reid, Professor of Applied Psychology at Queen Margaret University concludes: "Widespread publicity about the supposed harmful effects of sugar may make such effects more likely, as believing sugar to be harmful may encourage negative emotions after eating sugary food and lead to the abstinence violation effect. In other words, knowing that you're drinking sugary drinks, while believing that they're harmful, might result in the derailing of a generally healthy low-fat diet".
"Sugar in moderation plays a neutral role in the balanced diet, but an emotionally charged role in the psychology of food choice," she added.
The new research is published in the August issue of the journal Appetite, and replicates a previous study conducted by Reid in 2007, with normal weight women. The results substantiate those of the earlier study and show that women reduced their voluntary energy intake when the sucrose drinks were added to the diet. By the final week of the study, women had reduced their total energy intake back to baseline levels.
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Sugar for your honey ping.
And who paid for the research?
... in a study sponsored by Coca-Cola, Inc. ...
Did you notice that the study specifically addressed “Sucrose drinks”? That’s sucrose as in table sugar, not high-fructose corn syrup. Just something to think about...
In a related story, french fries, doughnuts and chicken fried steak don’t cause weight gain, either.
What I want to know is, who says that "low-fat" is healthy?
When I see anything labeled with "low-xxxx", I don't consume it.
There.
My lunch plans just changed!
The best advice I can give you about your lunch plans is to skip the fries and ask for mashed potatoes and cream gravy with the chicken fried steak. It just feels better.
8.5 fluid ounces, 430 Calories. Yikes, that is sweet. A typical soft drink will have about 100 Calories in that amount. Are they drinking maple syrup?
well........then the so-called soda tax is another scam to tax ya, huh? =.=
I guess they the whole useless government grant system is alive and well in England.
Daaaang! Now I’m all hungry! lol
One of the great tragedies of my life is that, where I live now, if I want chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and cream gravy, I have to make it myself. Some days I just want to hop on a plane and go to Texas.
They don't as long as it's 1 french fry, 1/8th of a doughnut, and 1 oz. of chicken fried steak *grin*
I can’t even remember the last time I had chicken fried steak. I think I’d end up licking the plate if it was placed in front of me now. ;o)
You are no fun. :)
When a friend from Australia was visiting, we walked through a local grocery store. She wondered what in the hell was cool-whip? I explained, she shook her head. Then we went on to corn syrup 'you serious? why don't you use sugar?' She had never seen or heard of corn syrup in foods.
She brought me over a bottle of Heinz "Big Red" tomato sauce (ketchup) made with sugar, not the other stuff. Amazing the difference in taste.
The trouble with “low-fat” versions of things is that they almost always pile on more salt to address the lack of flavor. As a result I make a lot of my own stuff now, such as mayonnaise, salad dressing, etc.
They are not hard to make at home (said the devil).
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