Sugary beverages like sodas and energy drinks are designed to be hyper-palatable, laden with extravagant amounts of sweeteners to stimulate pleasure centers in the brain.
Artificial sweeteners appear to change the host microbiome, lead to decreased satiety, and alter glucose homeostasis, and are associated with increased caloric consumption and weight gain.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29159583/