Alcohol Issues Newsletter
October 30 – November 05, 2023
Weekly Top Stories
- Rwanda Launches Campaign to Protect Youth From Rising Alcohol Harm
- Chronic Alcohol Use Undermines Immune Response to Coronavirus in the Lung
- Australia: Alcohol Companies Use Misleading Labeling
Most Read Stories
- USA: Young People View Alcohol Increasingly Negative
- Latvia: Parliamentary Committee Proposes Raising Alcohol-Purchase Age Limit
- Risk and Protective Factors for Health Behaviour in Adolescence in Europe
Top Story in Policy
Top Story in Science
Top Story in Big Alcohol Exposed
Most Read Stories
Alcohol Issues Special Feature – No. 44
The Link Between Alcohol and Obesity
Why it’s urgently needed and successes that pave the way
Movendi International has published nearly twenty resource articles on the link between alcohol use and obesity – as the evidence-base gets ever stronger. This is a Special Alcohol Issues Feature with the latest scientific updates and policy solutions.
Increase Alcohol Taxes Most Cost-Effective Way To Tackle Obesity
Alcohol is high in kilojoules, with a pint of beer almost on par with a chocolate bar in terms of energy content. That means that even relatively small levels of alcohol consumption can have a big impact on daily energy intake. Increasing the price of alcohol is the most value for money policy option to prevent obesity in Australia. By preventing obesity-related diseases, this policy would save about A$4.8 billion in health-care costs.
Growing evidence-based on alcohol and obesity
In 2022, a group of UK liver disease experts released a call to action for new research on chronic liver disease (CLD) focusing on multi-causality, multimorbidity, and health inequalities.
A recent study from Ireland revealed that heavy alcohol use is linked with obesity (high body mass index, large waist circumference) after controlling for possible confounders.
Already in 2020, a landmark study found that consuming even small amounts of alcohol per day can increase the risk of obesity. Even after accounting for potentially confounding factors including age, physical exercise, smoking, and income, the analysis showed a strong link between alcohol consumption and obesity, as well as between alcohol intake and metabolic syndrome.
Alcohol, obesity, cancer, liver damage and more
Recorded cases of cancer in under 50s between 1999 and 2019 soared by 79% and the main factors driving this rise included diets high in red meat and sodium, but alcohol consumption and smoking were identified as the biggest risks.
Two large first-of-their-kind scientific studies using the UK biobank data demonstrate the combined effects of alcohol with overweight and obesity in increasing the risk of cancer and liver disease.
And already in 2014 – almost ten years ago – a compelling study investigated the contribution of alcohol-derived calories to the alcohol–obesity relation. Alcohol calories may be a significant contributor to the rise in obesity.
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In-depth conversations with policy makers, community leaders and scientists, driving the global discourse about 21st century alcohol policy solutions
