New Soft Drink Labels Show All Calories
Maybe you have already noticed them: In the US, since February, beverage containers up to 20 ounces state the total calories contained, not just a “serving size”. To some people it will be quite surprising how many calories they actually are drinking.
More Calories Than You Think
Many people didn’t realize that what’s in a container was often more than one serving. And if they did, they may had have trouble to do the math required to get the total: If you buy a soft drink whose bottle contains 20 fl oz. and the serving size is stated as 6 fl oz. containing 100 kcal, how many calories will be in the total 20 ounces?
Hats off to you if you were able to calculate this in your head: It’s 333 kcal.
And They Add Up
One can of Coke has 150 kcal.
Dr. Jessica Bartfield, nutrition specialist at Chicago’s Loyola University estimates that 10% of overweight adult US citizens consume sugar sweetened beverages worth 450 kcal per day, which is three times as much as a normal weight American does. Cutting those 450 daily calories would lead to a little less than 1 pound of weight loss per week or 45-50 lbs per year.
One of Dr. Bartfield’s patients, a man weighing 350 lbs, drank 12 cans of cola per day and, in his own words, was “stunned when the nutritionist poured white sugar in a measuring cup to show me how much sugar I was drinking in just one day”.
It’s There, Now Use It
The new labeling is a voluntary initiative by the American Beverage Association, which, according to a press release, started it to support Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign.
The same press release also specified that the total calories are displayed on the front of all containers up to and including 20 fluid ounces, on vending machines on the selection buttons and on fountain-equipment they are “displayed prominently”.
All this could or could not be a publicity stunt by soft drink companies, done to evade more restrictive legislation; nonetheless the information is now there and you may as well use it.
Picture courtesy of Mark Sebastian.
10 Comments
Hmmm considering coca cola is the number 1 drink in america followed by diet coke just shows people go for the quick and easy.. Shame.
If you cut the 400 calorie of soft drinks from your diet, you would just eat more of something else to compensate for it.
Our bodies are very good at judging when we have a caloric deficit, and hunger quickly kicks in.
I think you are a bit pessimistic there. If you substitute the Coke with water it won’t make a difference to your stomach, because it isn’t very good at judging the energy-density of foods.
There was a documentary in the UK post-christmas very science based and scientists have found that a sugared drink will suppress appetite post-exercise but a “sweetener” drink does not fool the brain and the brain commands that the calorific value is found elsewhere. what was focused on was that 5mg of glucose/sucrose/dextrose in some form was enough to sate the brain and that is no where near the 400 calories in a fizzy drink and don’t even look at SPORTS drinks intended for 3000 calories per day athletes.
Dammmn she is hot
People who got a sweet tooth could have a nice homemade protein cake with only 400kcal (and ~50g of protein) which tastes like a piece of heaven and feel full instead.
Personally, soft drinks increase my hunger and cravings (even “light” ones).
I don’t see the point in drinking soft drinks…
Nick, they’re yummy. That’s the point. And free 260 cals.. 😀
There are tons of yummy things with a decent nutritional value and not only pure sugar. If you like to cook like me, you can make cheats taste better than junk food.
That is very true. I for example make spaghetti sauce myself and that is vastly superior to any canned or bottled sauce.
Nicky said : Personally, soft drinks increase my hunger and cravings (even “light” ones).
Note, the sugar free, light drinks will increase your hunger whereas a drink with glucose will satisfy the brain. Here is one article reporting on how MRI is helping science to show how foods respond in the brain.
http://www.groundreport.com/Health_and_Science/Fructose-Inhibits-Brain-Response/2934787