Carbonated water could be beneficial to weight-loss efforts: Study

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Fizz might be the key to losing fat. 

A study, published Jan. 20 in BMJ Nutrition Prevention & Health, found seltzer water is beneficial in promoting weight loss. 

“CO2 in carbonated water may promote weight loss by enhancing glucose uptake and metabolism in red blood cells,” the study said, per people.com. 

Researcher Akira Takahashi, a physician with the Tesseikai Neurosurgical Hospital in Japan, said while the carbon might expedite the absorption of glucose, “carbonated water is not a standalone solution for weight loss.” 

According to the study, the weight-loss benefit is “so small that it is difficult to expect weight loss effects solely from the CO2 in carbonated water.” 

Additionally, for some people, seltzer and other carbonated beverages can cause bloating or gas. Those who struggle with digestive disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), such fizzy drinks can exacerbate those symptoms. 

The study said that seltzer and other carbonated beverages are often used as an appetite suppressant, writing “distension of the gastric antrum (the lower part of the stomach) due to the release of dissolved gas from carbonated water induces satiety, which may cause further satiety and gastric motility thereby reducing hunger.” 

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Anyone thinking about going wild on any drink with bubbles should likely think again, however, as the study focused on plain carbonated water.  

Diet or artificially sweetened soda has been linked to heart issues. A can of regular soda can have as many as 140 calories.  

“The CO2 in carbonated water may support weight loss,” Takahashi writes in the report, but “it should be integrated into a broader strategy of healthy living rather than relied on as a primary weight loss tool.”  

“A balanced diet and regular physical activity remain crucial components of sustainable weight management.”