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  • Response to Letter to the Editor
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Reply to Celec

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 66, page 539 (2012)Cite this article

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Our research clearly showed that removing caffeine from sugar sweetened soft drinks (SSB) allowed 10.3% reduction in energy (sucrose) without a perceivable difference in flavour. As caffeinated SSBs are highly consumed food items, we used current caffeinated SSB consumption data to calculate the possible influence on weight gain if 10% energy were removed. We believe more research is needed, and the type of evidence provided by Celec (2012) using rat model is certainly warranted. However, stating research (Malik et al., 2010a; Keast et al., 2011, and others) concluding negative effects of cola beverages are ‘incorrect’, is itself incorrect. The obesity crisis we face is certainly multifactorial, and evidence pointing to factors that may be causal should not be dismissed because it does not fit with findings from a rat model study.

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References

  • Celec P (2012). Intake of cola beverages containing caffeine does not increase, but reduces body weight. Eur J Clin Nutr 66, 538.

  • Keast RSJ, Sayompark D, Sacks G, Swinburn BA, Riddell LJ (2011). The influence of caffeine on energy content of sugar-sweetened beverages: ‘the caffeine-calorie effect’. Eur J Clin Nutr 65, 1338–1344.

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  • Malik VS, Popkin BM, Bray GA, Despres J-P, Hu FB (2010a). Sugar-sweetened beverages, obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and cardiovascular disease risk. Circulation 121, 1356–1364.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria, Australia

    R S J Keast, D Sayompark, G Sacks, B A Swinburn & L J Riddell

  2. Faculty of Science and Technology, Rajamangala University of Technology, Tawan-ok, Chonburi, Thailand

    D Sayompark

Authors
  1. R S J Keast
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  2. D Sayompark
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  3. G Sacks
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  4. B A Swinburn
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  5. L J Riddell
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to R S J Keast.

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Keast, R., Sayompark, D., Sacks, G. et al. Reply to Celec. Eur J Clin Nutr 66, 539 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2012.12

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