Meals served with soft drink expected to be more satisfying

Meals served with a soft drink are expected to be more satisfying and filling than the same meal served with water, research has found.

This suggests that soft drinks may play an important role in meal planning.

It also indicates that people take into account the liquid calories they may be consuming when they eat.

Participants in a computer-based task judged how satiating a meal would be when it was paired with a calorific drink, a non-calorific drink, and a snack with the same amount of energy as the calorific drink.

Meals served with a calorific drink were judged to be just as satiating as the same meal served with a snack.

The finding adds to research about the impact of liquid calories and their potential health costs.