Sports beverages ‘hamper people’s weight loss plans’

Those who have adopted a regime of eating well and exercising regularly in order to lose weight are negatively impacting their health by drinking lots of sports beverages, a study has suggested.

Researchers from the Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) found that people seem to associate these beverages with a healthy lifestyle, despite the fact that they often contain high levels of sugar.

"Sports drinks have been successfully marketed as beverages consistent with a healthy lifestyle, which has set them apart from sodas," said the study's principal investigator Dr Nalini Ranjit, assistant professor of behavioural sciences at the UTHealth School of Public Health.

"However they have minimal fruit juice and contain unnecessary calories," Dr Ranjit added.

Last month, Stephanie Ballard, assistant professor of pharmacy practice at Nova Southeastern University's West Palm Beach campus, said people think that energy drinks will aid them in losing weight.

She said that this is because the beverages claim to help people to exercise for longer.

Why not try cutting energy drinks out of your diet and seeing if you lose more weight?