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

Biden and the Democrats, he said, are enacting “a blueprint to ruin America,” rife with “empty calories of anger,” borders that are “unsafe, insecure and wide open,” and “fear and chaos” replacing law and order.

From Washington Post

"But I also think on the other side of the coin, the noise had to be made in order to start to have change here. Social media is a very tricky animal. It can lead to great outcry and people listening, and it can also be a place that has a little bit of empty calories."

From Fox News

But as data accumulates that teenage mental health has changed for the worse since 2012, it now appears that electronically mediated social interactions are like empty calories.

From New York Times

A week of empty calories has made me less excited to play these massive games than even the most stressful day at E3.

From Los Angeles Times

The packaging differs, and it's marketed at a higher price point, but empty calories are empty calories.

From Salon