Energy labelling of alcoholic drinks: An important or inconsequential obesity policy?

Alcohol is calorie dense, but unlike food products, alcoholic drinks tend to be exempt from nutritional labelling laws that require energy content information to be displayed on packaging or at point of purchase. This review provides a perspective on the likely efficacy of alcoholic drink energy labelling as a public health policy to reduce obesity and discusses key questions to be addressed by future research. First, the contribution that alcohol makes to population level daily energy intake and obesity is outlined.

The energy and nutritional content of snacks sold at supermarkets and coffee shops in the UK.

Background: Snacking is associated with a higher daily energy intake and dietary guidelines recommend snacks of no more than 200 kcal for adults and 100 kcal for children. The present study examines the energy content, nutritional quality and price of single-serving snack food products sold by major supermarket and coffee shop chains in the UK.

Methods: Energy content, nutritional content and price of single-serving snack products were recorded in 2019 via the websites of 14 major chains (seven supermarkets; seven coffee shops).

Identification of Behavior Change Techniques From Successful Web-Based Interventions Targeting Alcohol Consumption, Binge Eating, and Gambling: Systematic Review.

Background: Web-based interventions are thought to overcome barriers to treatment, such as accessibility and geographical location, which can undermine the effectiveness of traditional face-to-face interventions. Owing to these features, researchers are increasingly testing the efficacy of web-based interventions as ways to reduce alcohol misuse, binge eating, and gambling. However, many web-based interventions have poorly defined mechanisms of action; therefore, it is often uncertain how they propose to bring about behavior change.

Alcohol, calories, and obesity: A rapid systematic review and meta-analysis of consumer knowledge, support, and behavioral effects of energy labeling on alcoholic drinks.

Mandatory energy (calorie) labeling of alcoholic drinks is a public health measure that could be used to address both alcohol consumption and obesity. We systematically reviewed studies examining consumer knowledge of the energy content of alcoholic drinks, public support for energy labeling, and the effect of energy labeling of alcoholic drinks on consumption behavior. Eighteen studies were included.