The effects of the spontaneous ingestion of particular foods or beverages on the meal pattern and overall nutrient intake of humans.

The influence of the ingestion of particular beverages and foods on the overall nutrient intakes and meal patterns of humans was investigated by paying 323 adults to maintain 7-day diaries of everything they ingested, time of ingestion, and subjective and social conditions. Ingestion of noncaloric beverages, diet sodas, and coffee or tea, were associated with low overall intakes but were not found to influence the amount eaten over the course of the day or in individual meals. Fifteen different caloric containing drink or food types were found, in general, to add to the total calories ingested in meals or over the day without displacing calories ingested in other forms. The results indicate that individual foods or beverages are ingested independent of other constituents and that intake within meals or over the entire day is elastic and readily influenced by nonregulatory factors.