The current study examines micro-drinking behaviours as a potential mechanism for this effect. In an initial field study, we found that serving wine in larger glasses, compared to smaller glasses, increased sales by almost 10%. However, no studies were found that examined the influence of tableware on consumption of alcoholic beverages.

Identifying further ways to reduce consumption could usefully contribute to improving population health.Ī recent Cochrane review has shown that the size of tableware influences consumption of food and non-alcoholic beverages, with larger sizes leading to greater consumption. Price, availability, and marketing are key to effective alcohol control policies. While micro-drinking behaviours may still prove to be a mechanism explaining consumption from different glass sizes, cross-validation of these results in a more naturalistic setting is needed.Įxcessive alcohol consumption is estimated to be the fifth leading cause of death and disability. These findings provide no support for the hypothesised mechanisms by which serving wine in larger wine glasses increases consumption. No differences were observed in any of the other outcome measures.

Wine drunk from the larger, compared with the smaller glass, was consumed more slowly and with shorter sip duration, counter to the hypothesised direction of effect. Other possible mechanisms examined were satisfaction with the perceived amount of wine served and pleasure of the drinking experience, assessed using self-report measures. Primary outcomes were three micro-drinking behaviours, assessed observationally using video recordings: drinking rate, sip number and sip duration. In a between-subjects experimental design, 166 young women were randomised to drink a 175 ml portion of wine from either a smaller (250 ml) or larger (370 ml) wine glass. The primary aim of the current study is to test if micro-drinking behaviours act as a mechanism that could underlie this effect, through an increase in drinking rate, sip duration and/or number of sips from a larger glass. Preliminary evidence of the impact of glass size on purchasing of alcoholic drinks shows an increase in wine sales of almost 10% when the same portion of wine is served in a larger glass. Tableware size may influence how much food and non-alcoholic drink is consumed.

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