Dive Brief:
- The maker of FATwater, which is purified water combined with fat from coconuts, aims to position this flavored water drink as a new weight loss option.
- Bulletproof founder and CEO Dave Asprey argues that the oils enhance thermogenesis, which means consumers burn the fat as energy, and have an appetite-supression effect. He also said the body does not store the oil's fats as body fat the way the body does for sugar.
- Some in the medical field, however, say that the science does not support these claims.
Dive Insight:
Nutritionists are quick to point out that this concept is different from coconut water, another recent beverage industry trend.
"Previous research looked at whether coconut water — not oil — is actually helpful for rehydration and it is, but no more than water and it's not the oil they are talking about," Aloysa Hourigan, senior nutritionist for Nutrition Australia Queensland told the Daily Mail. "I think there are a few misconceptions in terms of what they are talking about and I don't think there is any research that would support their claims."
One nutritionist told the New York Daily News that FATwater was a "near water product" because it has added calories, of which water should have none, and because it came from a factory instead of nature.
Water has been a welcome option as soda loses its fizz with consumers on concerns about high sugar content and the country's obesity epidemic. Flavored water has been one offshoot in particular to see success because of it.
Soda and obesity concerns have also been in the headlines because of Coca-Cola Co.'s financial backing of an obesity research nonprofit, which claimed exercise, not diet, was the best way to combat obesity, according to a New York Times report. Coca-Cola has since fired back, however, saying the article "created confusion" and that the company does believe a balanced diet is a key component to a healthy lifestyle, and that transparency will be better going forward.