The demand for calorie content for individual alcoholic drinks to be revealed has been made by a U.K. association of local government politicians — the Local Government Association. The idea behind the labeling would be to remind consumers about the contribution that alcoholic drinks make to diet and weight gain. This is due to wider concerns about the U.K.’s growing obesity crisis and research that suggests a sizable proportion of the population do not realize that most alcoholic drinks are high in calories.
Most data relating to overweight and obesity among adults (people aged 16 and over) comes mainly from the Health Survey for England (HSE). The latest information reveals 62.1 percent of adults are overweight or obese (67.1 percent of men and 57.2 percent of women).
The Local Government Association’s concern is that calories from alcohol are essentially “empty calories,” adding no nutritional content. Furthermore,, by drinking alcohol the amount of fat the body burns for energy is reduced. For example, one pint of cider (with alcohol-by-volume of 4.5 percent) contains 216 calories, which is the equivalent to three-quarters of a hamburger.
A spokesperson for the Association, Izzi Seccombe, explained to the BBC that the campaign was all about giving consumers more choice and more information. She added: “The onus is on the big breweries to do more to provide clear and prominent labeling. Providing people with the right information allows them to make choices about what they eat and drink. Prevention is the only way we are going to tackle the obesity crisis, which is costing the NHS more than £5 billion every year.”
