US Consumers Saving Calorie Equivalent of 87 Cheeseburgers a Year by Switching to Bottled Water, Claims Research

08 Jun 2016 --- The rise of consumption in bottled water has led to US citizens cutting up to 68 trillion calories from their diet over the past 15 years, according to new research.

The research from the US research firm Beverage Marketing Corporation (BMC) said the shift towards calorie-free bottled water meant that individuals were saving the calorie equivalent of 87 cheeseburgers per year.

“Bottled water’s ascent has been driven in large part by America’s move to healthier beverage choices, which has effectively resulted in calorie savings for all Americans,” said Michael Bellas, chairman and CEO, Beverage Marketing Corporation. “

“To put this in perspective, imagine a person cutting 161 hot dogs, 126 chocolate donuts or 87 cheeseburgers from their diet last year. That’s the kind of difference we’re talking about when we quantify the number of calories saved due to this widespread shift to bottled water.”

Consumption of bottled water has been rising in the US over the past 20 years.

According to BMC figures, total volume exceeded 11.7 billion gallons in 2015, up from 4.7 billion in 2000.

By contrast, carbonated drinks, energy drinks and all other liquid refreshment beverages (LRBs) combined declined in both total volume and individual consumption over the same period from 27 billion gallons to 25.8 billion gallons, according to BMC.

“Bottled water already outsells, by volume, carbonated soft drinks in many U.S. cities, and we expect that it will very soon become the most consumed beverage product nationwide,” said Gary Hemphill, managing director of Research, Beverage Marketing Corporation.”

Analysing data of bottled water consumption over the past 15 years, BMC looked at the potential health benefits and found that on average, an individual saved between 24,000 and 27,000 calories in 2015 as compared to 2000-this translated to a daily savings of between 64 and 74 calories per person in 2015.

“Caloric savings of this magnitude is rarely achieved by any food or beverage category,” added Bellas. “As health-conscious consumers continue to select bottled water in the years ahead, both they and the bottled water industry will feel the benefits of this choice.”

Nestlé Waters North America helped fund the research.