Alcoholic drinks common source of empty calories
Adult consumption accounts for five per cent, sugary sodas six per cent of total intake
NEW YORK — Americans get too many calories from soda. But what about alcohol? It turns out adults get almost as many empty calories from booze as from soft drinks, a government study found.
Soda and other sweetened drinks — the focus of obesityfighting public health campaigns — are the source of about six per cent of the calories adults consume, on average. Alcoholic beverages account for about 5 per cent, the new study found.
“We’ve been focusing on sugarsweetened beverages. This is something new,” said Cynthia Ogden, one of the study’s authors. She’s an epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which released its findings Thursday.
The government researchers say the findings deserve attention because, like soda, alcohol contains few nutrients but plenty of calories.
But a liquor trade association said the findings indicate there’s no big problem.
“This research shows that the overwhelming majority of adults drink moderately,” Lisa Hawkins, a spokeswoman for the Distilled Spirits Council, said in a statement.
The CDC study is based on interviews with more than 11,000 U. S. adults from 2007 through 2010. Participants were asked extensive questions about what they ate and drank over the previous 24 hours. The study found:
• On any given day, about one- third of men and one- fifth of women consumed calories from beer, wine or liquor.
• Averaged out to all adults, the average man drinks 150 calories from alcohol each day, or the equivalent of a can of Budweiser beer.
• The average woman drinks about 50 calories, or roughly half a glass of wine.
• Men drink mostly beer. For women, there was no clear favourite among alcoholic beverages.
• There was no racial or ethnic difference in average calories consumed from alcoholic beverages. But there was an age difference, with younger adults putting more of it away.
For reference, a 354- millilitre can of regular Coca- Cola has 140 calories, slightly less than a same- sized can of regular Bud. A 150- mL glass of wine is around 100 calories.
In September, New York City approved an unprecedented measure cracking down on giant sodas, those bigger than a half a litre. It will take effect in March and bans sales of drinks that large at restaurants, cafeterias and concession stands.