Impact of a Water Intervention on Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Intake Substitution by Water: A Clinical Trial in Overweight and Obese Mexican Women.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Intense marketing for sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) along with the human innate preference for sweet taste contributes to the increase in consumption of SSB. It is important to understand the intricacies of dietary intake and global changes to the food supply to understand the complexities facing any intervention promoting water intake. We describe challenges to promote and achieve an increase in water intake and present key findings from a clinical trial examining the effects of substituting water for SSB on triglyceride levels, weight and other cardiometabolic factors in overweight/obese Mexican women.

METHODS: A randomized trial was conducted in Cuernavaca, Mexico selecting overweight/obese (BMI ≥25 and <39 kg/m(2)) women (18-45 years old), reporting an intake of SSB of at least 250 kcal/day. Women were randomly allocated to the water and education provision (WEP) group (n = 120) or to the education provision (EP) group (n = 120). Repeated 24 h dietary recall questionnaires, anthropometry, and fasting blood levels were collected at baseline and 3, 6, and 9 months following the intervention.

RESULTS: There was no effect of the intervention on triglyceride concentration or on any of the studied outcomes. Post-hoc analyses according to weight at baseline show that triglyceride concentration decreased in obese women. Prevalence of metabolic syndrome after the intervention was lower in obese women from the WEP group.

CONCLUSION: Water intake was increased but insufficient to achieve complete substitution of SSB, without effects on triglyceride concentration. Post-hoc analyses suggested that interventions lowered triglyceride concentration. Further studies are needed.