Half of heavier drinkers say calorie labels on alcohol would result in a change of their consuming habits

Simply over half of heavier drinkers in England say they might make adjustments to their consuming if calorie labels for alcohol had been launched, in keeping with a brand new examine by UCL researchers.

The findings, the researchers stated, steered calorie labels may assist some drinkers preserve a more healthy weight.

The examine, printed within the journal BMJ Open, checked out survey responses from 4,683 adults in England to evaluate the impression that alcohol calorie labeling might need on individuals’s attitudes and consuming conduct.

The researchers discovered that 54% of heavier drinkers (outlined as “hazardous drinkers,” based mostly on a questionnaire) stated they might make adjustments to their consuming if calorie labels had been launched. This in comparison with 44% of lighter drinkers.

Requested about particular conduct adjustments, greater than 1 / 4 of heavier drinkers (27%) stated they might select lower-calorie drinks, whereas one in six stated they might drink alcohol much less usually (18%) and devour fewer drinks (17%).

The researchers additionally assessed individuals’s data of the calorie contents of alcoholic drinks, discovering that hazardous drinkers had been extra possible than low-risk drinkers or non-drinkers to precisely estimate the variety of energy in beer, wine, cider and spirits.

Lead writer Professor Andrew Steptoe (UCL Behavioural Science & Well being) stated, “Our examine discovered {that a} sizable proportion of heavier drinkers stated they might change their consuming habits if calorie labeling was launched. This implies labeling may assist goal higher-risk drinkers who’re getting a better proportion of energy from alcohol and usually tend to achieve extra weight in consequence.

“Whereas survey responses don’t essentially correspond to conduct, the outcomes point out that labels may play a helpful position in decreasing consumption of the hidden energy in alcohol. About 9% of energy consumed by males and 5% by ladies come from alcoholic drinks. Alcohol calorie labeling may due to this fact contribute in a modest method to serving to individuals preserve a wholesome weight.”

Below present UK legislation, all meals and non-alcoholic drinks should show dietary data. Alcoholic merchandise are exempt from this and solely want to point out the energy of alcohol, the amount of the drink and any allergens contained in them.

For the brand new examine, researchers checked out survey responses from a consultant pattern of adults in England, collected between November 2022 and January 2023.

They grouped survey respondents into non-drinkers, low-risk drinkers and unsafe drinkers based mostly on a questionnaire about consuming habits, which requested in regards to the quantity of alcohol consumed in addition to the impression of consuming on each day life. About three-quarters of drinkers had been classed as low-risk, and one-quarter as hazardous.

Greater than half of respondents (58%) stated calorie labeling can be helpful, with 64% agreeing it needs to be supplied in outlets and supermarkets, and 52% saying it needs to be accessible in pubs, bars and eating places. Drinkers had been much less possible than non-drinkers to assist labeling being supplied.

Requested to decide on the proper 50kcal vary for various alcoholic drinks, hazardous drinkers had been persistently extra correct in contrast with non-drinkers and low-risk drinkers. In the event that they weren’t correct, they tended to overestimate relatively than underestimate calorie content material.

The researchers concluded that campaigns to enhance public data about energy in alcoholic drinks could be much less efficient at decreasing consumption than in search of to vary attitudes. Provided that hazardous drinkers had been extra more likely to overestimate calorie content material, growing data may probably encourage hazardous drinkers to drink extra, the researchers stated.

Co-author Professor Jamie Brown (UCL Behavioural Science & Well being) stated, “Whereas these outcomes are encouraging, it’s unlikely that alcohol calorie labeling in isolation would contribute considerably to the UK Authorities’s technique to cut back harms from alcohol and weight problems. It might need a optimistic position as a part of a extra complete method, together with regulation on promoting, availability, taxation and worth.”

The researchers stated growing the supply of decrease calorie drinks can be useful, as this was the most typical motion in response to necessary labeling and was significantly well-liked amongst hazardous drinkers.