Counting the Calories: Examining the Relationship Between Beverage Consumption and the Canadian Diet

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The Conference Board of Canada is tracking the progress of the Canadian Beverage Association’s (CBA) Balance Calories Initiative (BCI). The initiative endeavours to reduce the number of calories that Canadians ingest from liquid refreshment beverages (LRBs) over the 2015 to 2025 time period. As most LRB calories are in the form of sugar, the initiative effectively targets a reduction in sugar consumption.

This report uses Statistics Canada’s Canadian Community Health Survey–Nutrition (CCHS–Nutrition) survey cycles for 2004 and 2015 to explore how LRBs’ contribution to Canadians’ diets are changing over time. The report’s introduction is followed by a review of the top-line dietary trends revealed by the CCHS–Nutrition survey data. Next is an analysis of the diets of overweight and obese Canadians with a particular focus on LRB’s role within these diets. The report also considers the implications of population aging for overall dietary trends and LRB consumption, and presents regional/provincial differences in LRB consumption. The report concludes with implications for the BCI.