ALCOHOL BEVERAGE DRINKING, DIET AND BODY-MASS INDEX IN A CROSS-SECTIONAL SURVEY

Objective: The study was carried out to determine the associations of alcohol beverage drinking with macronutrients, antioxidants. and body mass index. Setting: Dietary subsample of the 1992 Finmonica cardiovas cular risk factor survey in Finland; a cross-sectional study. Subjects : 985 women and 863 men were drawn from the population register in the four monitoring areas. All subjects were 25-64 of age. Methods: The m ailed questionnaire included questions covering socioeconomic factors, physical activity, smoking, and alcohol consumption. The diet was ass essed using a three-day food record. Results: The dietary differences between abstainers and alcohol consumers were more significant than be tween consumers of different alcoholic beverages. Among drinkers, fat intake as a percentage of energy was higher and carbohydrate intake wa s lower than among abstainers. Those who preferred wine, however, had the highest vitamin C intake; female wine drinkers also had the highes t carotenoid intake. With the exception of those who mainly preferred spirits, alcohol energy was not added to the diet but seemed to substi tute food items both in men and women. Despite the similar total daily energy intakes, daily energy expenditure, and physical activity index , male drinkers were leaner than abstainers. In women, the proportion of underreporters of energy intake increased with increasing alcohol c onsumption, and the association between alcohol and body mass index wa s similar to that in men after the exclusion of underreporters.Conclus ions: Alcohol consumers were leaner than abstainers, and wine drinkers in particular had more antioxidants in their diet.