Alcohol consumption patterns, diet and body weight in 10 European countries
- 4 November 2009
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in European Journal of Clinical Nutrition
- Vol. 63 (S4), S81-S100
- https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2009.76
Abstract
Background/objectives: Europe has the highest level of alcohol consumption in the world. As drinking patterns are important determinants of the beneficial and harmful effects of alcohol consumption, we investigated alcohol consumption in relation to nutrient intake, place of consumption, education and body weight in a sample of adults from 10 European countries. Methods: A 24-h dietary recall interview was conducted on 13 025 men and 23 009 women, aged 35–74 years, from 27 centres participating in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study. Means and standard errors of alcohol consumption, adjusted for age, were calculated, stratified by gender and centre. Results: In many centres, higher level drinkers (males consuming >24 g of ethanol/day, equivalent to >2 standard drinks and females consuming >12 g of ethanol/day equivalent to >1 standard drink) obtained more energy from fat and protein and less from sugar than did abstainers. The proportion of energy from starch tended to be higher for male and lower for female higher level drinkers than for abstainers. Female higher level drinkers had a lower body mass index than did abstainers, whereas male higher level drinkers generally weighed more. Male higher level drinkers were less educated than abstainers in Mediterranean countries, but were more educated elsewhere. Female higher level drinkers were usually more educated than were abstainers. Outside the home, consumption (both genders) tended to be at friends' homes, particularly among men in Northern and Central Europe, and in bars in Spain. Conclusions: This study reveals clear geographical differences in drinking habits across Europe, and shows that the characteristics of different alcohol consumption categories also vary.Keywords
This publication has 38 references indexed in Scilit:
- Confounders of the Relation between Type of Alcohol and Cardiovascular DiseaseAnnals of Epidemiology, 2007
- Comparison of telephone vs face-to-face interviews in the assessment of dietary intake by the 24 h recall EPIC SOFT program—the Norwegian calibration studyEuropean Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2003
- Physical activity of subjects aged 50–64 years involved in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)Public Health Nutrition, 2002
- Educational Differences in Excessive Alcohol Consumption: The Role of Psychosocial and Material StressorsPreventive Medicine, 1999
- Influence of alcohol consumption and various beverages on waist girth and waist-to-hip ratio in a sample of French men and womenInternational Journal of Obesity, 1998
- Nutrient intake according to education, smoking, and alcohol in Italian womenNutrition and Cancer, 1997
- Implications for cancer epidemiology of differences in dietary intake associated with alcohol consumptionNutrition and Cancer, 1991
- The Prevalence in Various Social Groups of Eight Different Drinking Patterns, from Abstaining to Frequent Drunkenness: analysis of 10 U.S. surveys combinedBritish Journal of Addiction, 1989
- Smoking and drinking by middle-aged British men: effects of social class and town of residence.BMJ, 1981