Does your drinking measure up?
The drink awareness team
Dropping a glass size could be the key to adults improving their health and losing weight.
That’s the message from health experts, who claim that taking simple steps - such as drinking smaller measures of wine - can have big benefits to a person’s wellbeing.
Shoppers in Falkirk’s Howgate Shopping Centre had the chance to take the ‘glass test’ on Saturday at a display organised by the Scottish Government.
Free tumblers, which display the amount of alcohol units contained in different servings of wine, were handed out to interested members of the public.
They are designed to inform people that drinking a little bit less can make a big difference.
And many shoppers were surprised at just how many units a generous measure of wine contains, and how much money they could save if they cut back their intake even just a little.
Government research suggests that too many people are still drinking too much booze on a regular basis, which can have a detrimental impact on a person’s health and weight.
Figures suggest that around 38 per cent of women regularly exceed sensible drinking guidelines by consuming more than two-to-three units a day, or 14 units a week.
As well as headaches and restless nights, over time, the invisible effects of alcohol can accelerate the ageing process and increase the risks of high blood pressure, liver disease and breast cancer.
You can witness the effects of regularly drinking too much by downloading the ‘Drinking Mirror’ application for mobile phones.
The applic-ation is available exclusively from the Scottish Government, and is free to download until the end of March.
It shows users that cutting down by a glass size can have a significant effect on the ageing process.
To date, it has been downloaded by 364,275 people from across the world.
The good news is that by making some simple adjustments to our drinking habits – such as dropping a glass size - it’s easy to make a noticeable difference.
Taking simple steps such as pouring a small glass of wine, as opposed to a standard measure, alternating alcohol with soft drinks when on a night out, and having at least two alcohol-free days a week - can have a positive impact on your health and well-being.
To find out more, or download a ‘Drinking Mirror’ application for your mobile, visit www.drinksmarter.org.
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Weather for Falkirk
Saturday 18 May 2013
Today
Light rain
Temperature: 10 C to 16 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 9 C to 19 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: East
