*Disclaimer: Please note that parts of this English blog were automatically translated.*
Are you looking for ways to be more conscious about your alcohol consumption? Then you may have heard of the latest trend: ‘zebra striping’. This refers to alternating between an alcoholic and a non-alcoholic drink (1). Alternating alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks is thus a metaphor reminiscent of the white and black stripes of a zebra.
Advice of the Health Council of the Netherlands
The Health Council of the Netherlands advises: ‘Do not drink alcohol or at least not more than one glass per day’ (2). This advice is based on convincing scientific evidence that associates alcohol consumption (≥15 grams per day*), compared to no alcohol consumption, with higher risks of chronic diseases such as stroke, coronary heart disease, breast cancer and colon cancer (3, 4). In addition, alcohol consumption has also been associated with other negative (health) effects, for example, higher risk of mortality, addiction, accidents and liver cirrhosis (3-5).
* For comparison: a standard glass of alcoholic drink in the Netherlands contains about 10 grams of alcohol (12).
How much do we drink?
Despite the advice of the Health Council of the Netherlands and known negative effects, only 44% of all adults in the Netherlands did not drink or drank less than one glass per day in 2023 (6). In addition, 7% of adults drank excessively (>21 glasses per week for men; >14 glasses per week for women) in 2023 (6). Excessive drinking was most common among college and university students (16%), young adults (18-29 years; 10%) and 65-74-year-olds (8%) (6, 7). Despite the age limit on buying alcohol (18+), alcohol also proves popular among young people (<18 years) (8). For example, 22% of 12-year-olds had ever drunk in 2023, compared with 44% of 14-year-olds and 63% of 16-year-olds (7). Binge drinking (≥five glasses on one occasion, once in the past month or more) occurred in 3% of 12-year-olds, compared with 14% of 14-year-olds and 35% of 16-year-olds (7). These numbers show that alcohol consumption increases significantly with age, reflecting how ‘normal’ drinking is in our society.
Zebra striping: a solution?
One strategy you can employ to reduce excessive alcohol consumption (and thus the negative effects of alcohol and healthcare costs (9)) is zebra striping. When you use this strategy, you alternate drinking an alcoholic drink with drinking a non-alcoholic drink (1). You thus substitute half of your alcoholic drinks for non-alcoholic drinks, herewith reducing the negative effects. Research on the effects of zebra striping seems to be in its infancy. However, a British research firm reported that 28% of visitors to a bar used the zebra striping strategy (10). This shows that zebra striping is not unusual. Thus, this shows the potential of using zebra striping as a strategy to reduce excessive alcohol consumption.
Zebra Beats Hangover
Leuven student life in Belgium is already familiar with zebra striping. In autumn 2024, the slogan ‘Zebra Beats Hangover’ (in Dutch ‘Zebra Beats Kater’) was part of the Drink Aware (in Dutch ‘Drink Bewust’) campaign, a campaign aimed at the conscious use of alcohol during nightlife (1, 11). The Flemish centre of expertise on alcohol and other drugs developed promotional materials (including a T-shirt and beer mat) that were used in pubs to promote awareness around alcohol consumption. Research will have to show whether excessive alcohol consumption is actually reduced. In Leuven student life, however, the campaign was well received. Thus, there may be opportunities here for future interventions to reduce excessive alcohol consumption and who knows… will we soon see the zebra in Dutch (student) pubs?
This blog was written by Kirsten van Hooijdonk (Behavioral Science Institute, Radboud University) for RAD-blog, the blog about smoking, alcohol, drugs and diet.
References
1. Vandenberghe, E. (2023, 4 december). Zebradrinken. VAD, Vlaams expertisecentrum Alcohol en andere Drugs. https://vad.be/artikels/zebradrinken/
2. Gezondheidsraad. (2015). Richtlijnen goede voeding 2015. https://www.gezondheidsraad.nl/documenten/adviezen/2015/11/04/richtlijnen-goede-voeding-2015
3. Gezondheidsraad. (2015). Alcoholhoudende dranken – Achtergronddocument bij Richtlijnen goede voeding 2015. https://www.gezondheidsraad.nl/binaries/gezondheidsraad/documenten/adviezen/2015/11/04/alcoholhoudende-dranken-achtergronddocument-bij-richtlijnen-goede-voeding-2015/A1506_Achtergronddocument-RGV2015-Alcoholhoudende+dranken.pdf
4. Gezondheidsraad. (2015). Alcohol – Achtergronddocument bij Richtlijnen goede voeding 2015. In Richtlijnen Goede Voeding 2015.https://www.gezondheidsraad.nl/binaries/gezondheidsraad/documenten/adviezen/2015/11/04/alcohol-achtergronddocument-bij-richtlijnen-goede-voeding-2015/A1505_Achtergronddocument-RGV2015-Alcohol.pdf
5. Rehm, J., Gmel, G. E., Gmel, G., Hasan, O. S. M., Imtiaz, S., Popova, S., Probst, C., Roerecke, M., Room, R., Samokhvalov, A. V., Shield, K. D., & Shuper, P. A. (2017). The relationship between different dimensions of alcohol use and the burden of disease—an update. Addiction, 112(6), 968–1001. https://doi.org/10.1111/add.13757
6. Alcoholgebruik | volwassenen. (z.d.). Volksgezondheid en Zorg. https://www.vzinfo.nl/alcoholgebruik/volwassenen
7. Alcoholgebruik | Jongeren. (z.d.). Volksgezondheid en Zorg. https://www.vzinfo.nl/alcoholgebruik/jongeren
8. Trimbos Instituut. (2024, 13 maart). Leeftijdsgrens alcohol jongeren: wat je moet weten. ALCOHOLinfo.nl. https://www.alcoholinfo.nl/opvoeding/leeftijdsgrens-alcohol
9. Ministerie van Algemene Zaken. (2022, 23 juni). Nationaal Preventieakkoord. Convenant | Rijksoverheid.nl. https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/documenten/convenanten/2018/11/23/nationaal-preventieakkoord
10. KAM. (2024, 6 juni). Low & No 2024: Drinking Differently – KAM. https://kaminsight.com/insights/low-and-no-2024/
11. Drink Bewust. (z.d.). LOKO de Leuvense Studentenkoepel. https://www.loko.be/drinkbewust
12. Drinkadvies alcohol. (2024, 13 juni). Trimbos-instituut. https://www.trimbos.nl/kennis/alcohol/alcohol-en-kanker/drinkadvies-alcohol/