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Carbonated drinks increase hunger?

jesspen91
jesspen91 Posts: 1,383 Member
edited November 23 in Debate Club
I was watching Trust Me I'm a Doctor on BBC 2 and they did a mini experiment based on this study.

http://www.obesityresearchclinicalpractice.com/article/S1871-403X(17)30006-6/fulltext

They found that volunteers who drank carbonated drinks had higher levels of ghrelin (hunger hormone) immediately afterwards and ate more calories (reported in a food diary) this was the case even with non sugary fizzy drinks like sparkling water.

Obviously this was for a TV show so should be taken with a grain of salt but it backs up the linked paper which was published in a peer-reviewed journal.

I'd never heard of this before but found it fascinating. I think it might explain some of the culture of fast food places (unlimited refills, meal deals) and their push of fizzy drinks.
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Replies

  • BradR_82
    BradR_82 Posts: 278 Member
    Interesting. I absolutely love sparkling water and have several a day...
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    I have heard that before.

    It's been so long since I drank carbonated drinks on a regular basis that I'm not sure how it affects me personally.
  • MarylandRose
    MarylandRose Posts: 239 Member
    edited January 2018
    I love sparkling water and drink large amounts of it regularly, especially on the weekends. I find that, if anything, it makes me less hungry. I often drink it between meals and it doesn't make me reach for snacks.
    I can't really report on soda/hunger, because I only drink soda when I'm already eating - I don't enjoy it alone, for whatever reason. But since I eat the same stuff regularly, I can say that I eat the same portion whether or not I'm enjoying the nectar of the gods (Diet Dr. Pepper) with it.
    The context matters more: I'd eat more if I was having a fizzy drink with a meal in a restaurant, because portion sizes. And I'd eat more if I was drinking a fizzy drink with food in front of the TV or at the movies, because mindless eating. In the study, were the participants confined to a lab or were they out and about and just logging food?

    ETA: If you looked at my life, you might reach the same conclusion - that fizzy drinks = more calories consumed, because on the weekends that I am over on calories, I drink a ton of sparking water. But they're not related that way. The weekends that I drink the most sparkling are weekends where we go to wine tastings (hence the excess calories) and I drink extra water to stay hydrated. My brain cannot with still water, especially warm water that's been left in the car, but I can chug a can of sparkling water like nobody's business no matter the temperature. And the sparkling water actually keeps me from consuming EVEN MORE excess calories - I feel too full from the water to succumb to the snacky impulses from wine.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I have never experienced such a thing...
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,486 Member
    Another sparkling water consumer here that isn't hungrier consuming it.

    I honestly think it fills me up more than still water (never tested this theory as I dislike still water and only drink it when desperate)

    I did hear/read that post WLS one isn't supposed to drink carbonated beverages as it can stretch the stomach.

    Cheers, h.
  • YvetteK2015
    YvetteK2015 Posts: 654 Member
    I consume several liters of seltzer water a day. I don't find it makes me more hungry at all. I could drink that all day and eat very little.
  • sabal20
    sabal20 Posts: 39 Member
    Sparkling water helped me lose weight (it meant I drank fewer fruit juices, soft drinks etc) so whilst the study is interesting I think it depends on where you're coming from.
  • whitpauly
    whitpauly Posts: 1,483 Member
    bizgirl26 wrote: »
    I find they have the opposite effect if anything

    Me too
  • mph323
    mph323 Posts: 3,565 Member
    I drink diet coke instead of bored or stress eating and find the caffeine + carbonation holds me over until the next meal.
  • Ohhhtayyyy
    Ohhhtayyyy Posts: 49 Member
    That’s so interesting
  • ryenday
    ryenday Posts: 1,540 Member
    My personal experience is carbonated water makes (or leaves) me thirsty. It does NOT come close to filling up my stomach tho, the way a regular glass of water does.

    I don’t *think* it makes me hungry, but I haven’t tracked it so I don’t actually know my caloric consumption on days I have it (a couple of glasses a week.)

    Interesting study.
  • fr33sia12
    fr33sia12 Posts: 1,258 Member
    I think with the study they did, the carbonated drinks may have caused higher levels of ghrelin (hunger hormone) but the volume of drink in the stomach and the gas causes the stomach to bloat making you feel less hungry.
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
    In my n=1 experience, carbonated beverages haven't seemed to do anything to me with regards to hunger.
  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
    I wonder if the idea of carbonated drinks being a trigger or people having certain associations with carbonated drinks could be a factor. I drank diet root beer for a long time as a crutch the help stave off eating/cravings... until I started associating it with eating/binging, in which case it only made things worse.

    Obviously that's more related to my own issues than it is an endorsement/condemnation of the drink, but I put it out there to do with as you will.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,282 Member
    I don't drink sparkling water.
    But my personal experience when I drink soft drinks is that they dont change my hunger levels one way or the other.
  • jesspen91
    jesspen91 Posts: 1,383 Member
    Just checking back on this thread. It's interesting that so many people's experiences go against the findings of this study. Their theory is that carbonated drinks expand the stomach and the body then gives signals that there is empty space to fill.

    Personally I can't speak for the effects either way as I rarely drink carbonated drinks. Like @MarylandRose I only really drink fizzy drinks when I'm out for a meal so its usually alongside food. Similarly with sparkling water which I only seem to drink at things like work conferences where there is also buffet food. I wouldn't ever drink fizzy drinks on an empty stomach because I once had a can of coke after not eating for 12 hours and I had horrible cramps. I don't know if it was the carbonation or (more likely) the acid but it put me right off fizzy drinks without a nice food cushion.
  • The_Enginerd
    The_Enginerd Posts: 3,982 Member
    jjpptt2 wrote: »
    I wonder if the idea of carbonated drinks being a trigger or people having certain associations with carbonated drinks could be a factor. I drank diet root beer for a long time as a crutch the help stave off eating/cravings... until I started associating it with eating/binging, in which case it only made things worse.

    Obviously that's more related to my own issues than it is an endorsement/condemnation of the drink, but I put it out there to do with as you will.
    For me, a savory snack like chips is quite enjoyable with a soda and I pretty often have a small one with my diet soda. That's not an unusual thing in our culture. I imagine there is quite a bit of association and "hedonic hunger" that drives the hunger hormones.

    If I choose not to eat something with it, I feel quite satiated, more so than I was before the drink.
  • clicketykeys
    clicketykeys Posts: 6,579 Member
    jesspen91 wrote: »
    I was watching Trust Me I'm a Doctor on BBC 2 and they did a mini experiment based on this study.

    http://www.obesityresearchclinicalpractice.com/article/S1871-403X(17)30006-6/fulltext

    They found that volunteers who drank carbonated drinks had higher levels of ghrelin (hunger hormone) immediately afterwards and ate more calories (reported in a food diary) this was the case even with non sugary fizzy drinks like sparkling water.

    Obviously this was for a TV show so should be taken with a grain of salt but it backs up the linked paper which was published in a peer-reviewed journal.

    I'd never heard of this before but found it fascinating. I think it might explain some of the culture of fast food places (unlimited refills, meal deals) and their push of fizzy drinks.

    It's interesting that the responses don't address the points you say the study made: higher levels of ghrelin, and they ate more. The responses here are more about perception. Did the study ask participants to record hunger perceptions?

    I'm not willing to give up my fizzy treats, but is it possible that even if I don't notice feeling hungrier, I end up eating more without really thinking about it?
  • ROBOTFOOD
    ROBOTFOOD Posts: 5,527 Member
    Not for me with soda. The opposite.
  • JoshGouvisis
    JoshGouvisis Posts: 98 Member
    Everyone is affected differently by many types of food/drinks. This one is definitely not me.
  • BackToBikini
    BackToBikini Posts: 10 Member
    Not me at all. In fact if I drink Seltzer along with my dinner 9/10 I won't be able to finish.
  • sportychic87
    sportychic87 Posts: 214 Member
    edited January 2018
    I love sparkling water and have reduced soda consumption since drinking sparkling so there’s got to be some good there. It’s probably not good for teeth enamel but oh well . It doesn’t affect hunger at all for me, if anything it reduces it because I’m getting plenty of water
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Interesting and curious.
    Opposite for me, fizzy drinks fill me up far more than flat drinks and I would have assumed the feeling of being full would reduce hunger not increase it.

    So maybe we aren't a slave to our "horrible hormones"? :)
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    sijomial wrote: »
    Interesting and curious.
    Opposite for me, fizzy drinks fill me up far more than flat drinks and I would have assumed the feeling of being full would reduce hunger not increase it.

    So maybe we aren't a slave to our "horrible hormones"? :)

    See, this to me was a more important takeaway. This causes me to question the theory that controlling ghrelin and the other hunger/satiety hormones is the key to weight loss, far more than it causes me to question diet soda.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    I don't drink sparkling anything very often but when I do it'll be a slimline tonic, then it does make me feel empty - I am thinking its the gas from the bubbles that make my tummy feel that way...
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