BALTMORE, Md., April 3 (UPI) -- When it comes to weight loss, what a person drinks might be more important than what they eat, U.S. researchers said.
The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found that weight loss was positively associated with a reduction in liquid calorie consumption and liquid calorie intake had a stronger impact on weight than solid calorie intake.
"Both liquid and solid calories were associated with weight change, however, only a reduction in liquid calorie intake was shown to significantly affect weight loss during the six-month follow-up," senior author Dr. Benjamin Caballero of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore said in a statement.
"A reduction in liquid calorie intake was associated with a weight loss of 0.25 kg, or 0.6 pounds at six months and 0.24 kg, or 0.5 pounds at 18 months. Among sugar-sweetened beverages, a reduction of one serving was associated with a weight loss of 0.5 kg, or 1.1 pound at six months and 0.7 kg, or 1.5 pounds at 18 months."
Of the seven types of beverages examined, sugar-sweetened beverages were the only beverages significantly associated with weight change, Caballero said.
