"I'VE BEEN DRINKING those new 'fitness waters,' " my niece Kelly said at a recent family party. "They're OK, aren't they?"

"I don't know," I replied, "I haven't looked into them yet, but they're on my list."

What's "OK" to one person, of course, might be less OK to another. In any case, I did check out Reebok's and Gatorade's fitness waters, along with several others, plus a couple of the new "creamier" yogurts. All seem to prompt the question, "How'd they do that?"

On the surface, the waters might be seen simply as an alternative to the sugar, artificial sweeteners or carbonation of soft drinks, with "enhancements" (vitamins, electrolytes, amino acids) suggesting they could be more health-promoting than plain water. The flavorings, at least, make it easier for some folks to even approach those eight glasses of liquids we're supposed to be consuming each day. With the yogurts, added creaminess might offset a reputation for tartness, especially in the lowfat and nonfat varieties.

After a little scrutiny, however, I'm beginning to think there might be two other trends in play.

Instead of using either artificial sweeteners or some variation of sugar (sucrose, fructose, glucose, corn syrup), manufacturers are using a combination. This might be useful for those who don't mind artificial sweeteners, since it lessens the common off-taste and reduces calorie and carbohydrate counts. But I suspect many consumers either don't read the list of ingredients, can't read it because the print is so small, or don't know what those ingredients are.

The label on Reebok's Fitness Water says one 24-ounce bottle has 30 calories. It lists water as the first ingredient, followed by high fructose corn syrup. I'll bet many people stop there, thinking, maybe hoping, they're getting 24 ounces of a sweet-ish drink without sugar substitutes at a cost of only 30 calories (24 ounces of Coca-Cola has 300 calories). But farther down the list are two artificial sweeteners, sucralose (brand name Splenda) and acesulfame potassium (Sunett).

Gatorade's Propel Fitness water lists its 23.7-ounce bottle as having about three servings, 10 calories per serving. That adds up to about the same as Reebok's. Propel's next ingredient after water is sucrose syrup. Farther down: sucralose and acesulfame potassium.
 

Fitness news you can use Finding water, yogurt For more information about these fitness waters and creamy yogurts: Reebok Fitness Water: 800-735-7180; www.clearly.ca Propel Fitness Water: 877-377-6735; www.propelwater.com Hansen's e20 Energy Water: 800-426-7367; www.hansens.com Essentia purified drinking water: 602-912-9500; www.essentiawater.com Glacéau SmartWater and FruitWater: 800-746-0087; www.glaceau.com Elements Enhanced Water: 800-762-7753; www.snappleelements.com VitaRain: 800-734-0748; www.talkingrain.com La Crème and Dannon Light 'n Fit Creamy: 877-326-6668; www.dannon.com Cascade Fresh fat-free yogurt: 800-511-0057; www.cascadefresh.com Kids' fitness • BAM! is a quarterly e-zine designed to answer questions on health issues for children 9 to 13 and recommend ways to make their bodies and minds healthier, stronger and safer. Launched recently by the Centers for Disease Control's Office of Communication and the Information Resource Management Office, the first issue focuses on physical activity and includes interactive ideas for middle-school health and science teachers. www.bam.gov. • Kidnetic offers kids 9 to 12 and their families information on healthful eating and active living, presented by the International Food Information Council Foundation. www.kidnetic.com.

Hansen's e20 also has 30 calories per 24 ounces. Filtered water leads the ingredients, followed by glucose. Later, again, are sucralose and acesulfame potassium.

When the artificial sweeteners aren't there, the calorie counts go back up. Talking Rain's VitaRain (Melon Berry flavor), has 2 1/2 servings per 20-ounce container, 70 calories per serving. That's 175 total. Snapple's Elements Enhanced Water manages 2 1/2 servings per 20-ounce bottle, with 40 calories per serving, or 100 total.

Two no-calorie products, Glacéau's SmartWater and Essentia's Purified Drinking Water, don't bother with sweeteners or flavors, adding only electrolytes. They taste like plain water to me.

Glacéau's FruitWater comes closest among the flat waters to having flavor without calories, with vapor-distilled fruit essences in subtle but interesting flavors, such as Lemon Ginger, Honeydew and Tangerine-Pineapple-Guava. Like most such waters, they can be pricey; I paid $1.40 for 20 fluid ounces.

I favor no-calorie seltzers, such as Tahoma's Ginger Lime, Talking Rain's Tangerine and Canada Dry's Cranberry-Lime. I usually buy them on sale, less than $1 for a 2-liter bottle.

As for those yogurts, Dannon is promoting two "creamier" varieties. Light 'n Fit Creamy claims its 100 calories (in a 6-ounce cup) is one-third fewer than in regular nonfat yogurt. Though that may be true compared to some, I found at least one "regular," Cascade Fresh boysenberry, with just 110 calories and no artificial sweeteners, unlike the Light 'n Fit's combination of fructose syrup and aspartame.

The real mystery was Dannon's La Crème. It's startlingly thick and creamy, reminiscent more of cheesecake than yogurt. No artificial sweeteners. Milk and cream, sugar, fructose, raspberry purée, some thickeners, and a few other ingredients.

Amazing, I thought, in only 140 calories.

Since this product comes four tubs to a package, the individual containers don't have the nutrition label. Hmmm. I dug out the cardboard packaging.

Aha — it's only a 4-ounce serving! A comparable, 6-ounce portion would be 210 calories.

Rich. Creamy. But, as presented, a smaller serving.

One more surprise:

It just might be worth it.