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Health

Will Booze Be the New Soda When It Comes to Fighting Obesity?

Nov. 15, 2012 8:30pm
CDC Study Finds Adults Get Nearly As Many Calories From Alcohol Consumption as Soda Drinking

(Image: Shutterstock.com)

NEW YORK (TheBlaze/AP) — With soda and its associated caloric count being the onus for New York City laying down a ban on the sales of the largest cup sizes, one has to wonder about the calories from alcohol as well. 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 obesity-fighting public health campaigns — are the source of about 6 percent of the calories adults consume, on average. Alcoholic beverages account for about 5 percent, the new study found.

“We’ve been focusing on sugar-sweetened 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.

The 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 guy drinks 150 calories from alcohol each day, or the equivalent of a can of Budweiser.
  • The average woman drinks about 50 calories, or roughly half a glass of wine.
  • Men drink mostly beer. For women, there was no clear favorite 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.
CDC Study Finds Adults Get Nearly As Many Calories From Alcohol Consumption as Soda Drinking

(Image: CDC)

CDC Study Finds Adults Get Nearly As Many Calories From Alcohol Consumption as Soda Drinking

(Image: CDC)

For reference, a 12-ounce can of regular Coca-Cola has 140 calories, slightly less than a same-sized can of regular Bud. A 5-ounce glass of wine is around 100 calories.

In September, New York City approved an unprecedented measure cracking down on giant sodas, those bigger than 16 ounces, or half a liter. It will take effect in March and bans sales of drinks that large at restaurants, cafeterias and concession stands.

Should New York officials now start cracking down on tall-boy beers and monster margaritas?

There are no plans for that, city health department officials said, adding in a statement that while studies show that sugary drinks are “a key driver of the obesity epidemic,” alcohol is not.

Health officials should think about enacting policies to limit alcoholic intake, but New York’s focus on sodas is appropriate, said Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a public health advocacy group.

Soda and sweetened beverages are the bigger problem, especially when it comes to kids — the No. 1 source of calories in the U.S. diet, she said.

“In New York City, it was smart to start with sugary drinks. Let’s see how it goes and then think about next steps,” she said.

However, she lamented that the Obama administration is planning to exempt alcoholic beverages from proposed federal regulations requiring calorie labeling on restaurant menus.

It could set up a confusing scenario in which, say, a raspberry iced tea may have a calorie count listed, while an alcohol-laden Long Island Iced Tea — with more than four times as many calories — doesn’t. “It could give people the wrong idea,” she said.

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Comments (27)

  • term limits for congress
    Posted on November 16, 2012 at 10:41am

    I’m surprised that booze isn’t already banned under obamacare.

    Report this comment

    term limits for congress  
    • 702TruthSeeker
      Posted on November 16, 2012 at 10:27pm

      brilliant point, since there’s no such thing as per-existing conditions under obamacare, i wonder how they are going to handle long time smokers and alcoholics…

      Report this comment

      702TruthSeeker  
  • quiltgal
    Posted on November 16, 2012 at 8:39am

    Bloomberg should declare a few days out of every week as “Mandatory Fasting Days” on which water is the only thing allowed to be consumed by NYC residents. This will not only skinny up the city’s population in a hurry, but also prepare them for food price inflation which is beginning to skyrocket. Americans need to get used to not being able to afford to eat every day. Thank you, Washington politicians, for helping us all cut our calories. Bring on the ethanol mandates! Let’s put more of our food in our fuel tanks instead of our stomachs! Hunger can be good!

    Report this comment

    quiltgal  
  • Gorp
    Posted on November 16, 2012 at 5:39am

    Go ahead and ban Beer. It’s not that hard to make at home.

    Report this comment

    Gorp  
  • dosdelgados
    Posted on November 16, 2012 at 1:15am

    Smirnoff should individually package shots and sell them as 100-calorie packs.

    Report this comment

    dosdelgados  
  • hslusher
    Posted on November 15, 2012 at 11:24pm

    Maybe its just me but I figure there are a lot of Sandy victims that could handle a few calories about now.
    Fact people dying from lack of food far outnumbers overweight people.

    Report this comment

    hslusher  
    • GUAPOKOVSKI
      Posted on November 15, 2012 at 11:41pm

      “Medieval beer or ale was a cloudy drink, full of proteins and carbohydrates, making it a good source of nutrition; it was also less alcoholic than its modern counterpart. Beer was a sterile and safe alternative to water which was often contaminate and considered unsafe to drink. The nutritional value of a Fellow’s bread and beer allowance clearly served to fill the gulf between two meals a day and a full sustenance.”

      http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/archive-centre/archive-month/may-2011.html

      Report this comment

      GUAPOKOVSKI  
  • GUAPOKOVSKI
    Posted on November 15, 2012 at 11:12pm

    Jeez, I spent a fortune for a Medical Beer Card and now it may get pulled?

    Report this comment

    GUAPOKOVSKI  
  • sparkyrules
    Posted on November 15, 2012 at 10:33pm

    Give Obama voters a 40 ounce Colt 45,and ask them what matters

    Report this comment

    sparkyrules  
    • Gorp
      Posted on November 16, 2012 at 5:38am

      Hell, give them all free Colt 45 and they’ll vote for him again…

      Report this comment

      Gorp  
  • USAFRetired
    Posted on November 15, 2012 at 9:49pm

    Drink your 40′s now, save the bottles and brew your own later when they tax the crap out of it in the future. Could switch to moonshine, add it to your gas tank. Lots of ways to outsmart the government.

    Report this comment

    USAFRetired  
  • repairsea
    Posted on November 15, 2012 at 9:26pm

    That is a pretty good argument.

    Report this comment

    repairsea  
  • DADDYWOREAWHITEHAT
    Posted on November 15, 2012 at 9:21pm

    They get lots of good sin tax revenue from booze – they will turn the other way n this one.
    Tax revenue is far more important than their social agenda or your waistline.
    After all cant we all just go to the congressional gym & work it off? Oh wait….. No we can’t.

    Report this comment

    DADDYWOREAWHITEHAT  
  • snowdrop
    Posted on November 15, 2012 at 9:09pm

    Hey, this is where legal pot comes in, low in sugar, low in calories and still get spaced out, perfect!!

    Report this comment

    snowdrop  
    • RJJinGadsden
      Posted on November 15, 2012 at 9:15pm

      Yeah, but after getting stoned, what will these people snack on? Tiny beers and sodas, the Twinkies will be gone, and the other sugary and salty snack food will be more secure than the non gold in Ft Knox.

      Report this comment

      RJJinGadsden  
    • M13
      Posted on November 15, 2012 at 9:29pm

      Stop it! You two are depressing me. Now where did I put that bong?

      Report this comment

      M13  
  • BlackCrow
    Posted on November 15, 2012 at 8:50pm

    Eventually something is going to push them over the edge. 8oz beers?

    Maybe the Republicans should adopt 40′s for EVERYBODY as a slogan, might just get the Black vote.

    Report this comment

    BlackCrow  
  • deltaecho
    Posted on November 15, 2012 at 8:48pm

    Liz, dahling, I only wish to be left alone.

    Report this comment

    deltaecho  
  • progressiveslayer
    Posted on November 15, 2012 at 8:42pm

    “In New York City, it was smart to start with sugary drinks. Let’s see how it goes and then think about next steps,” she said. Yes we’ll protect the lemmings from themselves because they’re too stupid to think for themselves.All libs are the same telling everyone else how to live meanwhile they don’t know their ass from a hole in the ground. Government will make everyone equal and remove all risk,this is the mantra of mindless government drones bent on destroying our economy and stripping us of all civil liberties.

    Report this comment

    progressiveslayer  
  • ChiefIlliniCake
    Posted on November 15, 2012 at 8:36pm

    Methinks coming for the booze, as pissed off as most people I know now are these days, will prove a Bridge Too Far for our Progressive pals.

    Try and get mine. I dare ya.

    Report this comment

    ChiefIlliniCake  
  • The-Monk
    Posted on November 15, 2012 at 8:33pm

    I’d like to see Bloomberg try to ban 40′s in NYC…..

    Report this comment

    The-Monk  

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