Wine Information Council

OBJECTIVES: The primary objective of the study was to examine the effect of calorie labelling and physical activity equivalence labelling of alcoholic drinks on drinking intentions in participants of lower and higher socioeconomic position (SEP). METHODS: Participants (N = 1,084) of higher and lower SEP were recruited into an online study and randomized into one of three drink label conditions; Control (standard alcohol labelling), kcal labelling (standard labelling plus drink kilocalorie information), or kcal + PACE labelling (standard labelling and kilocalorie information, plus information on physical activity needed to compensate for drink calories). After viewing drink labels, participants reported alcohol drinking intentions. Participants also completed measures of alcoholic drink energy content estimation, beliefs about how calorie labelling would affect health behaviour and support for calorie labelling of alcoholic drinks. RESULTS: kcal labelling (d = 0.31) and kcal + PACE labelling (d = 0.38) conditions had significantly lower drinking intentions compared to the control condition (ps

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and alcoholic liver disease, the two most prevalent liver diseases worldwide, share a common pathology but have largely been considered disparate diseases. Liver diseases are widely underestimated, but their prevalence is increasing worldwide.

The Western diet (high-fat, high-sugar) and binge drinking (rapid consumption of alcohol in a short period of time) are two highly prevalent features of standard life in the United States, and both are linked to the development and progression of liver disease. Yet, few studies have been conducted to elucidate their potential interactions. Data shows binge drinking is on the rise in several age groups, and poor dietary trends continue to be prevalent.

This review serves to summarize the sparse findings on the hepatic consequences of the combination of binge drinking and consuming a Western diet, while also drawing conclusions on potential future impacts. The data suggest the potential for a looming liver disease epidemic, indicating that more research on its progression as well as its prevention is needed on this critical topic.

INTRODUCTION: In recent years, beverage composition of total alcohol consumption has changed substantially in Sweden. As beverage choice is strongly associated with drinking practices, our paper aims to analyse trends in beverage composition of alcohol consumption by age, period and cohort. METHODS: Age-period-cohort (APC) analysis was conducted using monthly data from the Swedish Alcohol Monitoring Survey (2003-2018). The sample consisted of n = 260 633 respondents aged 16-80 years. APC analysis was conducted on drinkers only (n = 193 954; 96 211 males, 97 743 females). Beverage composition was defined as the beverage-specific proportion of total intake in litre ethanol. Fractional multinomial logit regression was applied to estimate the independent effects of age, period and cohort on trends in beverage composition. RESULTS: Regression models revealed statistically significant effects of age on all beverages except for medium-strength beer and spirits in males. Controlling for age and cohort, decreasing trends were found over time for medium-strength beer and spirits. The proportion of regular beer increased statistically significantly in males and the proportion of wine in females, whereas the trends for the opposite sex remained stable in each case. Predictions for cohorts showed statistically significant decreasing trends for medium-strength beer in males, lower proportions for regular beer and higher proportions for spirits in the youngest cohorts. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: The increasing proportion of wine drinking, which is associated with less risky drinking practices, may decrease alcohol-related morbidity and mortality. Increasing proportions of spirits in the youngest cohorts raises concerns of a possible revival in spirits consumption among the youngest.

Existing studies addressing alcohol consumption have not captured the multidimensionality of drinking patterns, including drinking frequency, binge drinking, beverage preference and changes in these measures across the adult life course.

We examined longitudinal trends in drinking patterns and their association with diet over four decades in ageing US adults from the Framingham Offspring Study (n 4956; baseline mean age 36.2 years). Alcohol intake (drinks/week, drinking frequency, beverage-specific consumption, drinks/occasion) was assessed quadrennially from examinations 1 to 8.

Participants were classified as binge drinkers, moderate drinkers or heavy drinkers (4+ and 5+ drinks/occasion; 7 and >14 drinks/week for women and men, respectively). Dietary data were collected by a FFQ from examinations 5 to 8 (1991-2008). We evaluated trends in drinking patterns using linear mixed effect models and compared dietary intake across drinking patterns using heterogeneous variance models. Alcohol consumption decreased from 1971 to 2008 (3.7 v. 2.2 oz/week; P < 0.05).

The proportion of moderate (66 v. 59.3 %), heavy (18.4 v. 10.5 %) and binge drinkers (40.0 v. 12.3 %) declined (P < 0.05). While average wine consumption increased (1.4 v. 2.2 drinks/week), beer (3.4 v. 1.5 drinks/week) and cocktail intake (2.8 v. 1.2 drinks/week) decreased.

Non-binge drinkers consumed less sugary drinks and more whole grains than binge drinkers, and the latter consumed more total fat across all examinations (P < 0.05). There was a significant difference in consumption trends of total grains by drinking level (P < 0.05).

In conclusion, alcohol drinking patterns are unstable throughout adulthood. Higher intakes were generally associated with poorer diets. These analyses support the nuanced characterisation of alcohol consumption in epidemiological studies.