Pairing Sugary Drinks with High Protein Meals Linked to Decreased Energy Metabolism

Consuming sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) significantly alters appetite sensations, food preferences, energy expenditure, and substrate oxidation, and, when combined with a high protein meal, reduces energy efficiency and fat oxidation, according to the results of a recent study.

In order to determine the extent of the effects of adding a small sugar-sweetened beverage to meals with various macronutrient compositions on appetite, energy metabolism, and substrate oxidation, researchers conducted a study involving 27 healthy weight adults who consumed an SSB or non-nutritive-sweetened beverage with a standard or high-protein meal. Appetite, energy metabolism, and substrate oxidation were measured on 2 occasions in a room calorimeter, and meal carbohydrate content was adjusted to maintain equivalent calories for both visits. All meals provided 17 g of fat and 500 non-beverage calories.
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Overall, increasing dietary protein was associated with decreased hunger and increased satiety, as well as decreased desire to eat savory, salty, and fatty foods. The inclusion of an SSB significantly suppressed diet-induced thermogenesis (DIT) and fat oxidation.

“The present results demonstrate the effect of SSB consumption on energy metabolism and food choices. These results reject our hypothesis that increasing dietary protein would correspond to a diminution in the effects of SSB consumption,” the researchers concluded.

“This work adds to the mounting evidence that SSB consumption can increase an individual’s susceptibility to weight gain and fat accumulation, especially when paired with a higher protein meal. These data highlight the need to design strategies aimed at maximizing macronutrient balance instead of focusing on interventions that strictly target energy balance.”

—Michael Potts

Reference:

Casperson SL, Hall C, Roemmich JN. Postprandial energy metabolism and substrate oxidation in response to the inclusion of a sugar- or non-nutritive sweetened beverage with meals differing in protein content [published online July 12, 2017]. BMC Nutrition. DOI: 10.1186/s40795-017-0170-2.