empty calories

Idioms  

1. Food that has little or no nutritional value. For example, Snacking on beer and potato chips makes for a lot of empty calories. [1960s]

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Example Sentences

"It's like dumping empty calories into a system that's been running on a finely tuned diet for hundreds of years."

From Science Daily

While undeniably fun, there’s a vacuousness to them, ungrounded as they are in place or message—empty calories expelled as quickly as they’re digested.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Then the excess of sugar that isn't needed for fueling activity is just empty calories triggering an insulin response, leading to inflammation, extra calorie consumption, weight gain, increasing the risk of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, and all the rest.”

From Salon

This sounds like sugar's keeping us fed, but added sugars are actually empty calories – they are bereft of any nutrients like vitamins or fibers.

From Salon

Added sugars are empty calories; they are added to the product during the manufacturing process to make it taste better.

From Salon