Smaller Wine Glasses Could Help You Drink a Bit Less

If you’re trying to cut back on the amount of wine you drink, the solution may be as simple as using a smaller glass.

A study was conducted by the University of Cambridge at a British restaurant/bar over a 16-week period. During that time, researchers tracked customers’ wine orders, while changing the size of the restaurant’s wine glasses every two weeks. Sizes alternated between a 10-ounce size (which is standard at most restaurants), 12-ounce size (a bit bigger) and 8-ounce size (a bit smaller).

The amount of wine served in each glass remained the same – about 5.9 ounces or 175 milliliters. Results showed that when the wine was sold in the larger 12-ounce size, the restaurant sold 9.4% more wine than when it was sold in the standard 10-ounce glasses. Unfortunately, findings related to the 8-ounce glass size were inconclusive, according to researchers.

However, the study’s lead researcher, Rachel Pechey, who works in the University of Cambridge’s Behavior and Health Research unit, said a conclusion could be made. By increasing the size of wine glasses, people drink more – even though the amount of wine in the glasses remained the same. While the reasoning behind this is certainly not obvious, it could be that larger glasses change peoples’ perceptions about the amount of wine in front of them – causing them to drink quickly, and then go for another glass.

Similar, separate studies suggest that other environmental factors can affect the amount of alcohol consumed. For someone pouring his or her own glass, a wider glass was linked with more wine being poured. If someone holds his or her own glass vs. pouring the wine into a glass on the table, he or she is more likely to pour a larger amount.

Theresa Marteau, who directs the research unit at the University, suggests that people can limit the amount of wine they are drinking by using smaller glasses. She said that more research is needed in order to substantiate this idea, however.

If further research validates the study, there could be interesting ways to implement changes in restaurants – such as making it a requirement for wine glasses to be within a certain size.

The study’s findings revealed similar results by the same group of researchers who analyzed the size of plates and utensils in regards to the amount of food people consume (the size of plate can indeed affect how much someone eats). Even the color of a plate can affect the taste of food, other studies suggest.

Women Closing Gap with Men on Alcohol Consumption

A new U.S. government report concluded women are catching up to men with the use and the abuse of alcohol.

Researchers examined data ranging from 2002 to 2012. Reported alcohol consumption in the 30 days prior to the survey rose from 45 percent to more than 48 percent among women but fell from 57 percent to 56 percent among men.

They found that all the categories began narrowing between men and women over time. These categories included the number of days they consume alcohol a month and driving under the influence. Men still drink more alcohol; however, the differences between men and women are less than they used to be.

The average number of days women consumed alcohol each month rose from 6.8 to 7.3. For men, that measure fell from 9.9 days to 9.5 days each month.

Not entirely surprising, binge drinking rates among college students age 18 to 25 remained unchanged. But women in the same age group who were not in college increased binge drinking. There was a significant drop in binge drinking among men in this age group not in college.

Binge drinking is defined as consuming more than five drinks on any one occasion for men and more than four drinks on any one occasion for women.

The difference increased rather than decreased in only one area during the study. The prevalence of combining marijuana use with alcohol consumption among 18-25 years old men went from 15 to 19 percent. The same measure for women remained at 10 percent.

The reason for the increase in alcohol consumption among women isn’t clear from the study, and the narrowing gap between women and men is also unclear. They do not seem to be influenced by pregnancy, marital status, or employment. The researchers called for additional studies to pinpoint the trend and its causes so they could craft or improve alcohol abuse prevention and treatment efforts.

Women face greater risk of health problems related to alcohol consumption than men. These include heart disease, liver inflammation, neurotoxicity, and cancer.