A calorie’s a calorie, isn't it? Well, accumulating evidence
shows that our body has a hard time registering calories from
beverages in the tally towards satiety; unfortunately, these
beverage's calories still count in our energy balance. That’s
why the extra calories in beverages are just extra—much like
items that didn’t go into the budget, but will nevertheless have
to be paid for. There are numerous studies to prove this point;
here are just a few: Nutritionist Barbara Rolls from Penn State
served women water, diet soda, regular soda, orange juice, milk
or no drink with lunch. Those given caloric beverages consumed
about 100 calories more than those given diet soda, water or no
beverage at the meal, without significantly affecting satiety
ratings. In the cute jellybean study, researchers gave men and
women 450 calories a day of either soda or jellybeans for a
month, then switched them for the next month and kept track of
total consumption. Candy eaters ate less food -- compensating
for the extra calories.