This simple trick reduces alcohol consumption... for women 🍷

Excessive alcohol consumption is responsible for many health problems, but simple solutions exist to reduce these risks. A recent study suggests that a memory exercise could influence the amount of alcohol consumed, but surprisingly, it only seems to work for women.

An original approach that could offer new perspectives in the fight against alcoholism, at least for part of the population.


The basic idea is to rely on memory to reduce drinking. Previous research on eating habits has shown that recalling a previous meal could lead to eating less. The team at the University of Portsmouth wanted to test whether this method could also apply to alcohol. The study, conducted on 50 women, involved having them recall a recent alcohol-related experience.

The participants were divided into two groups. The first group had to detail a memory of alcohol consumption, even estimating the calories ingested. The second group, serving as a control, simply recalled a car ride. Next, the participants were asked to drink an alcoholic beverage at their own pace, unaware that their drinking rate was being measured.

The results showed that the women who recalled an alcohol-related experience drank more slowly than those who remembered a car ride. This slowdown could indicate a reduced desire to consume alcohol, perhaps due to an increased awareness of the calories ingested. Additionally, this same group reported planning to drink fewer glasses over the course of the evening.

According to Dr. Lorenzo Stafford, the study's lead author, this phenomenon could be linked to women's greater sensitivity to the risks associated with alcohol, particularly weight gain. Currently, alcohol significantly contributes to daily caloric intake, especially for women.

Another study, conducted by University College, also suggests that calorie labeling on alcoholic beverages could encourage consumers to drink less. The study revealed that a majority of heavy drinkers would change their behavior if calories were clearly indicated on the bottles.

Professor Andrew Steptoe, the lead researcher of this study, highlights that labeling could encourage at-risk drinkers to reduce their consumption. However, he warns that this approach alone is unlikely to drastically change consumers' habits.

Meanwhile, researchers believe that more targeted interventions, directly influencing individuals' attitudes toward alcohol, would be more effective in the long term. Such strategies could complement the memory effect or labeling to promote more moderate consumption.

These studies therefore open intriguing avenues for better understanding how simple factors like memory or labels could influence alcohol consumption. However, further research will be needed to validate the effectiveness of these strategies on a large scale.