Coke & Pepsi Want You to Drink Fewer Calories

Kimberly Daly Farrell
by Kimberly Daly Farrell
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Coke & Pepsi Want You to Drink Fewer Calories

The American Beverage Association and Alliance for a Healthier Generation, Coca-Cola, Pepsi Co., and Dr. Pepper Snapple Group Inc., will soon begin promoting smaller portions and lower-calorie beverage options in response to the rise of obesity in America.

Obesity and the health risks associated with the condition, including diabetes, are often linked to sugary treats like sodas and bottled juices. And, for many MyFitnessPal users, noticing just how many calories they consume while sipping is one of the first “A-ha!” moments on their journey to weight loss and better health.

But for beverage manufacturers to admit their products might be contributing to the unhealthy state of Americans is a surprising step. The voluntary pledge to cut beverage calories by 20 percent by 2025 will certainly impact industry sales, and could put the brand viability of regular Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and Dr. Pepper into question.

Are you thinking about cutting back on liquid calories? Here are two great articles full of tips to help you do just that.

Share your thoughts on the news about Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and Dr. Pepper in the comments below!

About the Author

Kimberly Daly Farrell
Kimberly Daly Farrell

Kimberly Daly Farrell is a contributor at MyFitnessPal. A certified health coach and self-proclaimed running addict, Kimberly studied integrative nutrition and has completed three marathons. She has previously held editorial positions at Shape, Glamour, Fitness, and Good Housekeeping magazines. You can follow Kimberly’s running adventures on her personal blog, Some Kind Of Runderful.

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25 responses to “Coke & Pepsi Want You to Drink Fewer Calories”

  1. Avatar Dave Gee says:

    Coke and so on still have less calories than most fruit juice, similar to milk and so on.
    Personally, I do prefer not to drink my calories, so go for coke-zero and other very low calorie soft drinks.

  2. Avatar Thanksbutnothanks says:

    They’re just selling you less product for the same price.

  3. Avatar Sandy says:

    Drink water!

  4. Avatar erynfaith says:

    I’m allergic to most of the artificial sweeteners available (I count splenda and truvia in this category since they are chemically altered to some extent) I’ve long since cut down on my soda consumption but sometime a coke is a just a little reward. if they do smaller cans or bottles at a lower price I’d be happy with it.

    • Avatar Will.I.am.not says:

      You can be sure the smaller cans will cost more than the 12 pack 12oz cans. Food size in America is shrinking, but costs remain the same and go up. Case in point.

      Try to buy the following items: 1 pound of bacon, 1 pound of coffee, 1/2 gallon of icecream (only Blue Bell sells it), 1.75 qts of ice cream, 1/2 gallon of orange juice, 1 pound of cheese.

      All of these items are no more, the sizes are smaller, but the cost is the same. The packages look VERY similar to how they used to be, but you are getting less and paying more.

      It won’t be long until we see 11oz beers and 11oz sodas. Guinness Beer already is 11oz.

      • Avatar Xim says:

        You can still get half gallons of orange juice at every grocery store, you can still get half gallons of ice cream at most big supermarkets or at any ice cream store that sells their own brand, you can still get a pound of cheese at any deli. You are correct on the bacon though.

        • Avatar Will.I.am.not says:

          I just went to buy OJ yesterday. Every container was 59oz not 64oz. You either get a 59oz or a 1 gallon jug.

          The only ice cream maker that has 1/2 gallon is either the garbage generic ice cream (real cheap stuff) or Blue Bell which is usually in the $6 range.

          All the cheese blocks are 13oz, not 16oz. Unless you go to Costco and get a 3lb block.

          Pretty soon, you will probably only be able to buy 8 or 18 eggs, not a dozen.

          I wouldn’t be surprised if the soda makers start using a 1.95L bottle instead of a 2L bottle.

  5. Avatar Will.I.am.not says:

    I stopped drinking Diet Coke a couple of months ago. Not for the usual reasons, but it was bothering my mouth. I would get a lot of sores and stuff after I drank it So I did some experiments and I’ve been better since.

    The other day I took a swig of Diet Coke just for a small taste. It tasted awful to me! It used to be one of my guilty pleasures, now I don’t like it. It’s funny how quickly your body changes like that.

    It’s sorta like a smoker who really didn’t want to quit, but has to. I really miss my can of DC in the afternoon. Or going to the fountain and filling up. I enjoyed it. But the pain it was giving me out weighed the delight. So for now, I am a reformed soda drinker!

    Oh well!

  6. Avatar Deanna says:

    I’ve switched my family to “Mexican” cola for the time being. I think it tastes better and the glass bottles certainly slow down the rate at which 12oz of cola disappears, imo. I keep both them and cans of perrier/la croix around, and just knowing that I won’t have to go get the bottle opener is also often enough to make me grab a perrier (or a regular water) instead of a coke. Nvm that I’ve mostly been avoiding soda since I started keeping track of what I eat.

  7. Avatar SuperSexyDork says:

    They’re just keeping up with their consumer base. When the American mindset was bigger is better, they played along. Now that consumers are linking their drinks to obesity, they’re still playing along. Marketing is marketing.

    • Avatar MHG says:

      Agreed. They’re turning the obesity problem into another business opportunity. Their sugar-laden sodas have been blamed for causing obesity so instead of fighting and denying, they’re “rallying” for the cause and profiting.

  8. Avatar Caroline W says:

    I used to have a Pepsi max addiction … my PT asked me to stop and stop all sugar free squash etc … 6 weeks down the line havent touched a drop .. now drink sparkling water only … still at a push ! ..and the very odd glass of red wine … skin better, sleep better, hair better, concentration better … and I lost 6Kgs … and now hate the taste of Pepsi Max ….until you stop altogether you will never lose the craving and these companies know this !

  9. Avatar Hannah V. Smith says:

    I hate drinking my calories. Water and Diet Coke all the way.

  10. Avatar Breana says:

    Once I realized how many calories are in soft drinks and sodas, I just started drinking more Crystal Light because I would rather eat my calories than drink them, if I’m being completely honest with myself.

  11. Avatar yepitsme says:

    The best thing to do is to cut out sodas entirely.

  12. Avatar Golda Tyla says:

    I’ve been off of Coke & Pepsi for a while now. Drinking tea or water with lemon makes lots of sense to me. Coke & Pepsi have aspartame which, to me, spells poison.

  13. Avatar BuzzPreston says:

    It’s not the calories, it’s the sugar. The fructose goes directly to the liver and is stored as fat. It affects the brain the same way cocaine does and is eight times more addictive. “Cutting down” on sugary drinks is like a commercial pilot shooting for 80% safe landings.

  14. Avatar caz1310 says:

    We very rarely have soft drink. Yukky sickly sweet taste. Gosh knows whats actually in it. Just dont drink it…you wont miss it.

  15. Avatar carol says:

    I agree. They are ‘down sizing’ the product, and charging the same price. They could care less about our health. Perhaps they could cut out the Aspartame. Now, that would impress me a lot more.

  16. Avatar Tammy says:

    Can we please just act like grown ups and act for ourselves instead of being acted upon. Put on your big boy, or girl, pants and drink soda if you choose but please stop blaming the manufacturers for your habits. Take control of your own lives. I, for one, don’t choose to live in a nanny state and I treat my fellow citizens like they are smart enough to make their own choices and then live with those choices. Has anyone heard of choice and accountability? Too many people are being taught to blame others for their choices. We are suppose to learn from the good or bad choices we make and then adjust. Not do and blame with no accountability on our part.

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