The shifting beverage landscape

STOREY, M.L. The shifting beverage landscape. PHYSIOL BEHAV, 2010. — Simultaneous lifestyle changes have occurred in the last few decades, creating an imbalance in energy intake and energy expenditure that has led to overweight and obesity. Trends in the food supply show that total daily calories available per capita increased 28% since 1970. Total energy intake among men and women has also increased dramatically since that time.Some have suggested that intake of beverages has had a disproportional impact on obesity. Data collected by the Beverage Marketing Corporation between 1988–2008 demonstrate that, in reality, fewer calories per ounce are being produced by the beverage industry. Moreover, data from the National Cancer Institute show that soft drink intake represents 5.5% of daily calories. Data from NHANES 1999–2003 vs. 2003–06 may demonstrate a shift in beverage consumption for age/gender groups, ages 6 to > 60 years.The beverages provided in schools have significantly changed since 2006 when the beverage industry implemented School Beverage Guidelines. This voluntary action has removed full-calorie soft drinks from participating schools across the country. This shift to lower-calorie and smaller-portion beverages in school has led to a significant decrease in total beverage calories in schools.These data support the concept that to prevent and treat obesity, public health efforts should focus on energy balance and that a narrow focus on sweetened beverages is unlikely to have any meaningful impact on this complex problem.