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Study Shows People Who Drink Alcohol Less Likely to Eat Whole Grains as well as Fruit
By Katrina Woznicki
WebMD Health News
Reviewed By
Laura J. Martin, MD
March 30, 2010 — A federal study shows that men as well as women who drink alcohol
are less likely to eat whole grains as well as fruit as well as to drink milk, as well as they are
more likely to eat unhealthy foods high in overweight as well as sugar.
Researchers at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse as well as Alcoholism
(NIAAA), the National Cancer Institute, as well as the U.S. Department of Agriculture
interviewed 8,155 men as well as 7,715 women in the U.S. about their drinking and
dietary habits. Their findings are reported in the April 2010 issue of
Journal of the American Dietetic Association.
“Heavy drinking as well as dietary factors possess independently been associated with
cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, as well as other chronic health problems,”
NIAAA Acting Director Kenneth R. Warren, PhD, says in a news release
“This finding raises questions about whether the combination of alcohol misuse
and without money diet may work to further increase health risks.”
Alcohol as well as Without money Diet
Overall, the study results show that among current drinkers for both sexes,
as alcohol take increased, wholesome eating scores decreased. Eating fruit
decreased as well as calorie intake increased in both men as well as women who drink alcohol.
Eating whole grains as well as drinking milk decreased significantly among male
alcohol drinkers.
Researchers note that both diet as well as drinking alcohol are lifestyle behaviors
that can be modified in order to lower the risk of disease as well as disease-related
deaths.
The findings are based on data collected for the National Health and
Nutrition Examination Survey, a large, ongoing survey of the U.S. population
that is being conducted by the CDC. This data were collected between 1999 and
2006. Most of the study participants were non-Hispanic whites, had at least a
high school education, did not smoke, as well as had a mean body mass index (BMI) of
25 or higher, indicating that they were either overweight or obese.
The researchers ranked participants’ alcohol drinking status as either
never, former, or current drinkers. In this study, 76% of men as well as 65% of women
were current drinkers. Researchers as well as factored in the participants’ Healthy
Eating Index scores, which measured how closely people followed federal dietary
guidelines. The Health Eating Index scores were based on the participants’
memory of what they had eaten in the done 24 hours.
The researchers note that a 24-hour recall of individual diets does not
reflect a person’s overall eating habits, but it does provide a snapshot of a
person’s dietary preferences. Moderate alcohol drinking is defined by the 2005
U.S. Dietary Guidelines as no more than one drink a day for women as well as no more
than two drinks a day for men.
Study researcher Rosalind A. Breslow, PhD, an epidemiologist in NIAAA’s
Division of Epidemiology as well as Prevention Research, says in a news release, “Our
findings underscore the importance of moderation for individuals who choose to
consume alcoholic beverages, as well as a greater awareness of wholesome food choices
among such individuals.”
SOURCES: Breslow, R. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, April
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