Thursday, November 15, 2012

16% of Calories from Alcohol

Beer, wine, and liquor provide 16 percent of the daily calories of the average American, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. On an average day, 33 percent of men and 18 percent of women aged 20 or older drink alcohol. The average man consumes 150 calories a day from alcohol, and the average woman consumes 53. These figures come from 24-hour dietary recall interviews in the 2007-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

On a given day, 20 percent of men and 5 percent of women drink beer. Wine is consumed by 7 percent of women and 4 percent of men on a given day. Among men, 19 percent consume over 300 calories a day from alcohol--or more than two drinks a day. Twelve percent of women consume over 150 calories a day from alcohol--or more than one drink a day. If these figures seem low, keep in mind that alcohol consumption is widely underreported.

Source: National Center for Health Statistics, Calories Consumed from Alcoholic Beverages by U.S. Adults, 2007-2010

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