I received an email asking me to help bring about an awareness that the average person gets more than 20% of their total caloric intake each day from beverages.

To highlight just how many calories a teenager could save per day by drinking water instead of sugary beverages like soda or energy drinks, Nestlé Waters North America (NWNA) created a video and after watching it you will see the numbers speak for themselves.

Hidden Calories from Beverages

Both children and adults require adequate hydration each day to help the body function properly. While sugared beverages may quench one’s thirst, they can contain 140 calories in a typical 12 oz. serving.

On average, beverages make up 20% of the total caloric intake in the typical American diet.* Replacing one sugared beverage per day with water for a year can trim more than 50,000 calories annually from your diet.** Drinking water is a good way to stay hydrated without consuming calories.

Obviously a campaign for Nestle Water, but the message is sound — And they also created another video that illustrates existing consumer data which indicates that when bottled water isn’t available, 63% of consumers say they would choose a sweetened beverage instead.

And you may think that teens chose other beverages instead because they taste better.  However, NWNA found this might not be the case. In this video [http://bit.ly/Mg4de4], NWNA held a hidden camera focus group to see what students would do when an “out of order” bottled water vending machine was placed next to a vending machine full of other beverages.  Their actions and responses may surprise you.