Association of food form with self-reported 24-h energy intake and meal patterns in US adults: NHANES 2003–2008

In the highest tertile of 24-hour beverage energy intake, beverages provided >30% of total energy consumed.

• Higher total energy and nonbeverage energy consumption increased with greater energy from beverages.
• The energy density of both beverage and nonbeverage foods rose alongside beverage energy intake.
• More frequent eating episodes, including snacks and beverage-only instances, were reported with increased beverage energy consumption.
• The proportion of energy derived from main meals decreased as beverage energy intake increased.
• Moderating beverage-only eating episodes and reducing the length of the eating period may help lower excess beverage energy intake.

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