The Liverpool City Council has launched a new online tool to show
residents the true calorific impact of their drinking habits. The Drink
Less Feel Good campaign, which launched on Monday 5 February, allows people to
see how much they are drinking in junk food-terms as part of the council’s
initiative to get locals to cut down.
The study carried out by the
council found that most people consider their high levels of drinking “the
norm,” while measuring alcohol in units leaves many confused about their own
intake.
The council said that focusing
on calories instead will give residents a better sense of what their alcohol
consumption actually means in terms of their own health. Three pints of beer contain
roughly 510 calories, the equivalent of two burgers, while three large glasses
of wine (630) calories translates to eating three donuts per week. Director of Public Health, Dr, Sandra Davies, said: “Over time, we have seen people drinking alcohol as part of everyday life and becoming an entrenched behavior as they often use it to unwind at the end of the day and when socializing at the weekend.
Go to this website and give it a
try. http://www.drinklessfeelgood.com/
The tool, which asks users to
enter their age and gender before detailing how many drinks they enjoy on each
day of the week, also charts how much people drink compared to the rest of the
UK population.
“When we’ve asked people about
alcohol units it is clear that they find it really hard to equate it to the
amount that they drink, and that they don’t realize that alcohol contains empty
calories with no nutritional value at all. Councilor Paul Brant, Cabinet
member for adult health, said: “We’re not asking people to give up alcohol
altogether – we’re giving you the tools to know whether or not you are having
too much, and if so give them hints and tips to drink a little less.”
I took both of the tests and I
found the result quite interesting. This
site provides an insight into what your drinking is doing to you to your body
and makes some good recommendations . It
is worth the 15 minutes it takes to do the test.
