Jul 6, 2006

Beverages now account for 20 percent of the daily calories consumed by those aged 2 and older. Half the excess calories consumed by Americans daily come from beverages, most of them with added sugar, according to research conducted at the University of North Carolina — Chapel Hill (UNC). Caloric intake from sweetened drinks has climbed threefold, from an average of 50 calories per day in 1977 to nearly 150 calories in 2001 — or enough to pile on about 15 pounds per year. So water — bottled or from the tap — ranks as the first choice for quenching thirst without consuming a lot of added calories, according to a plan developed by UNC nutrition professor Barry M. Popkin and a team of experts.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/03/AR2006070300791.html

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