If you're already eating less or don't drink many sugary drinks, swapping water for them won't help you lose weight—because you weren't drinking many extra calories to begin with.

Just drinking more water won’t help you lose weight unless you actually stop drinking sugary drinks — and if you only drink a little extra water, it won’t make a difference.

Giving kids or adults water instead of soda doesn’t usually make them lose weight if they just eat more food to make up for the missing calories.

If kids or overweight adults switch from soda or juice to water without changing what they eat, they tend to gain less weight over time — but if they’re on a strict diet, water doesn’t help much.

If overweight people swap soda for water, they gain less weight—but if they swap water for milk or juice, they gain more weight, showing what you drink matters more than just how much you drink.

If you drink water instead of soda, juice, or milk with your meals, you tend to eat less food overall, which can help you take in fewer calories.