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Background: Alcohol packaging is an important marketing communications tool and can be used to deliver alcohol-related health information. This thesis had two main aims: 1) to explore how alcohol companies use packaging as a promotional tool and its impact on young adult drinkers; 2) to explore how young adult drinkers engage with the health-related information, messaging and warnings currently on packaging, their support for displaying health-related information, messaging and warnings on packaging, and their response to a range of novel, on-pack health warnings. Methods: A mixed methods design was used with three interlinked studies. First, six years of trade press magazines (n=696) in the United Kingdom (UK) covering a 10-year period (2008-2017) were reviewed to explore the role of alcohol packaging as a marketing tool. Second, eight focus groups with 18-35 year-old current drinkers (n=50) in Scotland were conducted to explore perceptions of, and engagement with, current packaging from marketing and social marketing perspectives, and reactions to novel on-pack health warnings. Third, a cross-sectional online survey and experiment with 18-35 year-old current drinkers (n=1,360) in the UK was conducted to examine the role of alcohol packaging as a tool for promotion and health messaging. Findings: The mixed methods findings indicate that alcohol packaging is a powerful, multifunctional marketing vehicle, used by companies to target consumer profiles (e.g. young adults, females); capture attention; create appeal; encourage product trial and purchase; and, ultimately, increase revenue. Most participants engaged with, and were influenced by, alcohol packaging as a promotional tool. Furthermore, alcohol packaging has significant potential to deliver health messaging, increase awareness of harms, and counteract the appeal of alcohol products. Conclusion: Alcohol packaging is a multifaceted marketing tool and could be an effective means of communicating alcohol-related health information, potentially supporting a reduction in consumption and related harms.

Mobility relates to the basic human need of physical movement which declines with advancing age. Strong evidence of successful ageing can be found in mobility performance (walking, muscle strength, and physical functioning) evaluation. Previous evidence indicates that physical activity could prevent progression of mobility limitation and promote successful ageing. As such, the overall aim of this thesis is to determine effects of 24-h movement behaviours (physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep) on musculoskeletal health, adiposity, and physical functioning in older adults. Chapter 1 reviews the evidence for these outcomes of interest. Subsequently, chapter 2 reports on changes in walking behaviour with increasing age in high-functioning older adults living in Scotland. However, individual intrinsic capacity is only one of the components of functional mobility and laboratory-based gait analysis can only provide a limited picture. Accordingly, in chapters 3-5, laboratory-based measurements of mobility have been translated into the real world by considering movement within the whole 24-h time period in older adult populations living in Scotland (high-income setting) and South African Townships (low-income setting). Chapter 3 describes compositional time differences in 24-h movement behaviour between Scottish and South African older adults. Chapters 4 and 5 investigates associations between 24-h movement behaviours, musculoskeletal health, adiposity, and physical functioning. Higher volumes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity were associated with better health outcomes in both samples, while sedentary behaviour presented a detrimental effect on other variables. However, differences in health outcomes associations were present between the Scottish and South African settings. The findings reported in this thesis demonstrates the importance of exploring 24-h movement behaviours in older adults from differing settings, to gain greater understanding of context and socioeconomic profiles, and how these link to health outcomes so that there is an understanding of how best to intervene.