Web helps young people to control their drinking
Many people enjoy a social drink with friends and take a sensible approach to alcohol, drinking in a way that is unlikely to cause harm to themselves, or others. However, the extent of alcohol misuse by students and other young people gives cause for concern. The internet is now being used to help individuals make changes in their behaviour, in order to improve their health. Researchers from the UK are helping young people to reduce their level of alcohol intake by using an online personal analysis of their drinking behaviour. The website - Unitcheck - has been developed and trialled at the University of Leeds, with the goal of changing the habits of at-risk young drinkers. The pilot scheme, which studied the drinking habits of over 500 university students, was funded by the European Research Advisory Board (ERAB). The website allows individuals to make a quick check on the number of units that they are consuming. It provides information on whether this impacts on their health and how their consumption of alcohol compares with their peers. Head researcher, Bridgette Bewick of Leeds Institute of Health Sciences, discovered that 5% of those surveyed regularly drink at weekly levels associated with health risks. However, initial results indicate a reduction in drinking per occasion of approximately one unit during the trial. A follow-up survey three months later showed that this reduction in alcohol intake has persisted. 'Our approach indicates many of the young people surveyed did not realise how many units they were consuming on an average occasion. The heaviest drinkers surveyed were surprised to find the majority of their peers stay within sensible weekly limits. High levels of alcohol taken on a single occasion can be particularly damaging to health, so a small change in this pattern is a step in the right direction,' says Ms Bewick. In 2006, 55 million adults in the EU were estimated to be drinking 'at harmful levels' and that alcohol abuse is estimated to be responsible for nearly 200 000 deaths a year in the EU, through accidents, liver disease and cancer, among other things. Meanwhile, the UK government's National Alcohol Strategy published a progress report in 2007, which advised that women who regularly drink over six units a day and men who regularly drink over eights units a day are in the highest risk 'binge drinking' category. The UK's Department of Health guidelines state that men can drink between 3 - 4 units of alcohol per day without serious risk to health. This amount is reduced to between 2 - 3 units per day for women. Binge drinking involves too much alcohol over a short period of time, for instance over the course of an evening, and it is typically drinking that leads to drunkenness. It has immediate and short-term risks to the drinker and to those around them. People who become drunk are much more likely to be involved in an accident or assault, be charged with a criminal offence, contract a sexually transmitted disease and, for women, are more likely to have an unplanned pregnancy. 'Research which leads to a change in behaviour in relation to alcohol misuse has important implications for society as a whole. If feedback via the internet can be exploited to improve health then this will be a very low cost way to achieve positive benefits,' says Professor Ray Hodgson, Director of Alcohol Education and Research Council (AERC), the organisation responsible for funding the web trial. Unitcheck is currently being extended to include four other UK universities. Leeds Primary Care Trust and the Institute of Health Sciences are looking at how the website can be modified and promoted to community groups, organisations and health professionals, both nationally and internationally.
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United Kingdom