Comment from online trainer : Dean Piazza
This is a very interesting article and court case ! The vitamin water below is currently sold in Australia and I have been seeing alot of advertising for this drink lately on buses
Sports drinks, energy drinks, vitamin waters - They are all loaded with sugar and if you are trying to lose weight should be avoided at all costs.
If you workout in extreme heat or train for more than 2 hours a day they may be fine but for most of us avoid them at all costs !
The marketing behind them is questionable for most of these drinks and besides the amount of sugar and calories in them they are also very expensive.
My tip : If you want to lose weight drink tap or bottled water or if you need some sugar and taste , good old fashioned cordial ( watered down of course ! )
Dean Piazza
Your online personal trainer
The Coca-Cola Company is being sued for making "deceptive and unsubstantiated claims" about its VitaminWater line of beverages, which it touts as healthy alternatives to soft drinks, lawyers for the plaintiff say.
Coca-Cola is misleading consumers by using words such as "energy" and "endurance" on VitaminWater bottles and claiming that the drinks reduce the risk of illness and boost health, said the Centre for Science in the Public Interest, which is co-counsel to the man who filed the suit in a California court
"In fact, according to CSPI nutritionists, the 33 grams of sugar in each bottle of VitaminWater do more to promote obesity, diabetes and other health problems than the vitamins in the drinks do to perform the advertised benefits listed on the bottles," the health advocacy group said in a statement.
"VitaminWater is Coke's attempt to dress up soda in a physician's white coat. Underneath, it's still sugar water, although sugar water that costs about 10 bucks a gallon," the group's litigation director Steve Gardner said.
Plaintiff James Koh, of San Francisco, said he used to drink VitaminWater after a workout, thinking he was doing himself good.
"I was attracted by the prospect of getting extra vitamins, but I had no idea that I was actually getting almost a Coke's worth of sugar and calories," Mr Koh said.
"There's no way I would have spent money on that, had I known," he said.
VitaminWater sells in the United States for about $US1.50 ($2.30) for a 590ml bottle.
Twenty-ounce bottles of Coca-Cola, which are sold in vending machines and convenience stores, cost about $US1.40.
Coca-Cola said it would vigorously defend the lawsuit.
Coke describes the allegations made by Centre for Science in the Public Interest as ridiculous.
In a statement released today, Lucie Austin, regional marketing director for Coca-Cola South Pacific said glacéau VitaminWater was a great tasting, hydrating drink with vitamins and water and labels clearly highlighting the kilojoule content.
"It is a good alternative to soft drinks or juice and has less sugar.
"It is crazy to suggest Coke in the US is being misleading. This case has nothing to do with public interest and everything to do with a typical US publicity stunt."