Objective: The study was carried out to determine associations of reported alcohol intake with diet and body mass index. Type and frequency of consumed alcohol were also considered.
Design: A cross-sectional study.
Setting: The baseline examination of the participants of the Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention Study in 1985-1988.
Subjects: 27215 middle-aged Finnish male smokers.
Interventions: The diet was assessed by a self-administered food use questionnaire: Subject's habitual diet and alcohol intake over the previous 12 months were asked. Body mass index was used as the measure of adiposity.
Results: Energy intake from food was not related to alcohol intake. Although alcohol consumption was associated with food selection (eg berry and coffee consumption), this only slightly influenced daily nutrient intakes. Intake of spirits was more consistently related to higher body mass index than that of other alcoholic beverages. Daily alcohol intake had a much smaller association with body mass index than less frequent use, independently of the total consumption.
Conclusions: The differences in nutrient intake between abstainers, light and moderate alcohol consumers were small although the consumption of many foods varied with alcohol consumption. Even if alcohol consumption is one noteworthy factor associated with weight, the energy from alcohol increases body weight less than expected; both the type and frequency of consumed alcohol may explain why energy from alcohol is utilized less efficiently than non-alcoholic energy.