A conducted by the University of Cambridge suggests an increase of non-alcoholic drinks on sale online may reduce the amount of alcohol people buy.
Researchers studied 737 regular alcohol buyers in England and Wales using a simulated online supermarket. Of these, over 600 completed the study.
鈥淲e created our simulated supermarket to be as close as possible to an actual online supermarket and found that increasing the proportion of non-alcoholic drinks that shoppers were exposed to made a meaningful difference to their alcohol selection,鈥� the study鈥檚 lead author Natasha Clarke said. 鈥淭hough we鈥檇 need to confirm these findings using only a real online supermarket, they are very promising.鈥�
Participants were split into three groups and given 64 options to choose from including a range of beers, ciders, alcohol-free beer, cider alternatives and soft drinks.
Each group was presented with a different proportion of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.
The first group was given a selection of drinks, of which 25 per cent were non-alcoholic. For the second group, that proportion increased to 50 per cent, and for the third group, 75 per cent.
Researchers found the third group鈥攚here participants were shown the highest proportion of non-alcoholic drinks鈥攃hose alcoholic drinks 52 per cent of the time. Meanwhile, in the first group, 70 per cent of the drinks that were chosen were alcoholic beverages.
鈥淪upermarkets typically stock a wider range of alcoholic drinks than non-alcoholic alternatives aimed at adults, but this is slowly changing,鈥� the study鈥檚 senior author Gareth Hollands said. 鈥淥ur results suggest that if non-alcoholic options were to become the majority instead, we might expect to see substantial reductions in alcohol purchasing.鈥�
Researchers warn people that excessive alcohol consumption is a major risk for a number of diseases, including cancer, heart disease and stroke.
鈥淲e all know that drinking too much alcohol is bad for us, but we鈥檙e often unaware of how much we are influenced by the environment around us.鈥� Dame Theresa Marteau, director of the Behaviour and Health Research Unit at the University of Cambridge said.
鈥淢aking changes to this environment 鈥� from exposing people to a greater proportion of healthier options through to changing the sizes of the utensils we eat and drink from 鈥� can help us cut down on potentially unhealthy habits. Even relatively small changes can make a difference both to individuals and at a population level.鈥�
