New examine exhibits the effectiveness of alcohol calorie labeling

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

The findings, the researchers mentioned, steered calorie labels may assist some drinkers keep 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 affect that alcohol calorie labeling may 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) mentioned they’d make modifications to their consuming if calorie labels had been launched. That is in comparison with 44% of lighter drinkers.

Requested about particular behaviour modifications, greater than 1 / 4 of heavier drinkers (27%) mentioned they’d select decrease calorie drinks, whereas one in six mentioned they’d drink alcohol much less usually (18%) and eat fewer drinks (17%).

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

Lead creator Professor Andrew Steptoe (UCL Behavioural Science & Well being) mentioned: “Our examine discovered {that a} sizeable proportion of heavier drinkers mentioned they’d change their consuming habits if calorie labeling was launched.

This implies labeling would possibly assist goal higher-risk drinkers who’re getting a better proportion of energy from alcohol and usually tend to achieve extra weight because of this.”

Andrew Steptoe, Research Lead Creator and Professor, Behavioural Science & Well being, College Faculty London

Steptoe added, “Whereas survey responses don’t essentially correspond to conduct, the outcomes point out that labels may play a helpful function 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 subsequently contribute in a modest technique to serving to individuals keep a wholesome weight.”

Underneath present UK regulation, all meals and non-alcoholic drinks should show dietary data. Alcoholic merchandise are exempt from this and solely want to point out the power 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 affect of consuming on every day life. About three quarters of drinkers had been classed as low-risk and one-quarter as hazardous.

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

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

The researchers concluded that campaigns to enhance public data about energy in alcoholic drinks is likely to be much less efficient at decreasing consumption than looking for to vary attitudes.

On condition 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 mentioned.

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

The researchers mentioned growing the supply of decrease calorie drinks can be useful, as this was the commonest motion in response to necessary labeling and was notably standard amongst hazardous drinkers.