I sometimes work with food reporting data for what my institution calls "low resource populations" (poor people). My impression from reading their food reports is that they have no idea about calories or anything like that, but drinking soda makes them feel relatively satisfied and also all the advertisements tell them soda is great. I have read multiple reports where the only things the person consumes all day are a) soda and one of some kind of sandwich, or b) soda/coffee/fast food. The first type of person has almost no money to buy food and they choose to buy soda. The second type of person probably has a job and is looking for fullness (hence the fast food), and the ability to keep going through a long work day and commute (so they go for high caffeine). I have read these reports for people with families, pregnant women, etc.
The food reports also ask questions about supplements, snake oil products, "enzymes", and that kind of thing. Poor people love buying these things because we have zero protection against ads that tell them these products will help them get through their day.
Advertising is FAR more influential over people's food choices than someone going on the internet and learning about calories or the nutritional value/economic cost-benefit analysis of soda. Poor people are not going on the internet for this.