Liquid calories and the failure of satiety: how good is the evidence?
Almiron-Roig and colleagues examine the popular claim that liquid calories fail to satisfy, and find the evidence weaker than the claim. The idea, that drinks bypass the mechanisms producing fullness so people do not compensate by eating less, is widely asserted and has been applied particularly to sweetened drinks, which are consumed more than milk and juice combined. Reviewing the experimental literature, they find it inconsistent: some studies report liquids as less satisfying than solids, others report the opposite. What emerges instead is a set of conditions that matter, including the characteristics of the person, how much was consumed and how long passed before the next meal, all of which interact with the texture of the food. Their conclusion is that texture alone does not settle the question. This vault cites it as the necessary counterweight to the single striking demonstration of liquid calories and weight gain.
Almiron-Roig and colleagues examine the popular claim that liquid calories fail to satisfy, and find the evidence weaker than the claim. The idea, that drinks bypass the mechanisms producing fullness so people do not compensate by eating less, is widely asserted and has been applied particularly to sweetened drinks, which are consumed more than milk and juice combined. Reviewing the experimental literature, they find it inconsistent: some studies report liquids as less satisfying than solids, others report the opposite. What emerges instead is a set of conditions that matter, including the characteristics of the person, how much was consumed and how long passed before the next meal, all of which interact with the texture of the food. Their conclusion is that texture alone does not settle the question. This vault cites it as the necessary counterweight to the single striking demonstration of liquid calories and weight gain.
Written from the abstract, OpenAlex.
What our sources record
Reproduced as it was written when this source was checked, figures and all.
Inconclusive; the literature runs in both directions.
Where we use it
- Why You Are Hungry an Hour After a Big Lunch, Why We Crave
Reliability of this reference
The link below was matched against the publisher's record on title, first author and year, and all three agree.
The source
https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1467-789X.2003.00112.x
DOI: 10.1046/j.1467-789X.2003.00112.x