Food and Nutrient Intake, Anthropometric Measurements and Smoking according to Alcohol Consumption in the EPIC Heidelberg Study

Vol. 49, No. 1, 2005

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Original Paper

Food and Nutrient Intake, Anthropometric Measurements and Smoking according to Alcohol Consumption in the EPIC Heidelberg Study
T. Ruf^a, G. Nagel^a, H.-P. Altenburg^a, A.B. Miller^a, B. Thorand^{a, b}

^aGerman Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ), Division of Clinical Epidemiology, Heidelberg, and
^bNational Research Centre for Environment and Health (GSF), Institute of Epidemiology, Neuherberg, Germany

Address of Corresponding Author

Ann Nutr Metab 2005;49:16-25 (DOI: 10.1159/000084173)

Key Words

EPIC Heidelberg
Alcohol consumption
Dietary intake
Body mass index
Smoking

Abstract

Aims: The study was carried out to determine associations of reported alcohol intake with dietary habits, body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and smoking. Subjects and Methods: 24,894 subjects who participated in the baseline examination of the German part of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) in Heidelberg and were between 35 and 65 years of age at baseline were included in the present cross-sectional analysis (11,617 men, 13,277 women). Diet and alcohol consumption were assessed with a semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire. Analysis of covariance with age as a covariate was used to analyse the association between alcohol intake and dietary consumption patterns, BMI, WHR and smoking. Results: Alcohol did not replace other food items, but was an addition to the diet. Among alcohol consumers, fat and protein intake as a percentage of energy was slightly higher and carbohydrate intake was slightly lower than among abstainers. Alcohol consumers had a lower intake of fruits, dairy products, cereal products, and added vegetable fat and a higher intake of animal products such as meat, fish, eggs and added animal fat than abstainers. The prevalence of current smoking showed a U-shaped relation to alcohol intake in men and women. In men, a U-shaped association was also seen between the prevalence of former smoking and alcohol intake, while the prevalence of former smoking increased linearly with alcohol intake in women. Conclusion: The results show that alcohol consumption is associated with dietary consumption patterns and smoking. Therefore, it will be important to consider dietary patterns and other lifestyle parameters when investigating the health effects of alcohol intake in the future.

Author Contacts

Dr. Tilla Ruf
Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (DKFZ), Abt. Klinische Epidemiologie C020
Im Neuenheimer Feld 280
DE-69120 Heidelberg (Germany)
Tel. +49 6221 422220, Fax +49 6221 422203, E-Mail t.ruf@dkfz-heidelberg.de

Article Information

Received: March 5, 2004
Accepted: August 25, 2004
Published online: February 25, 2005
Number of Print Pages : 10
Number of Figures : 2, Number of Tables : 4, Number of References : 28

Medline Abstract (ID 15735364)

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