British researchers were looking for a way to get bigtime drinkers to moderate their behavior
Everybody knows that drinking too much alcohol is bad for you. But did you know it was fattening?
British researchers surveyed heavy drinkers -- meaning people who drink a lot, not drinkers who are overweight -- and found that just over half of them saidthey would make changes to their drinking if calorie labels for alcohol were introduced.
The findings, the researchers said, suggested calorie labels could help some drinkers maintain a healthier weight.
The study, published in the journal BMJ Open, looked at survey responses from 4,683 adults in England to assess the impact that alcohol calorie labelling might have on peoples attitudes and drinking behaviour.
The researchers found that 54% of heavier drinkers (defined as hazardous drinkers based on a questionnaire) said they would make changes to their drinking if calorie labels were introduced. This compared to 44% of lighter drinkers.
Asked about specific behaviour changes, more than a quarter of heavier drinkers (27%) said they would choose lower calorie drinks, while one in six said they would drink alcohol less often (18%) and consume fewer drinks (17%).
About 9% of calories consumed by men and 5% by women come from alcoholic drinks. Alcohol calorie labelling could therefore contribute in a modest way to helping people maintain a healthy weight, saidProfessor Andrew Steptoe, UCL Behavioural Science & Health.
They know, they just need reminding
The researchers also measured drinkers' knowledge of the calorie contents of alcoholic drinks, finding that hazardous drinkers were more likely than low-risk drinkers or non-drinkers to accurately estimate the number of calories in beer, wine, cider and spirits.
Asked to choose the correct 50 calorie range for different alcoholic drinks, hazardous drinkers were consistently more accurate compared with non-drinkers and low-risk drinkers. If they were not accurate, they tended to overestimate rather than under-estimate calorie content.
The researchers concluded that campaigns to improve public knowledge about calories in alcoholic drinks might be less effective at reducing consumption than seeking to change attitudes.
This suggests labelling might help target higher-risk drinkers who are getting a greater proportion of calories from alcohol and are more likely to gain excess weight as a result.
While survey responses do not necessarily correspond to behaviour, the results indicate that labels could play a useful role in reducing consumption of the hidden calories in alcohol.
Lead author Professor Andrew Steptoe (UCL Behavioural Science & Health) said: Our study found that a sizeable proportion of heavier drinkers said they would change their drinking habits if calorie labelling was introduced.
About 9% of calories consumed by men and 5% by women come from alcoholic drinks. Alcohol calorie labelling could therefore contribute in a modest way to helping people maintain a healthy weight.
For the new study, researchers looked at survey responses from a representative sample of adults in England, collected between November 2022 and January 2023.
They grouped survey respondents into non-drinkers, low-risk drinkers and hazardous drinkers based on a questionnaire about drinking habits, which asked about the amount of alcohol consumed as well as the impact of drinking on daily life. About three quarters of drinkers were classed as low-risk and one quarter as hazardous.
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Posted: 2024-09-19 19:30:47
