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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.

Original publication

DOI

10.1038/ejcn.2009.76

Type

Journal article

Journal

European journal of clinical nutrition

Publication Date

11/2009

Volume

63 Suppl 4

Pages

S81 - 100

Addresses

Nutritional Epidemiology Unit, Department of Preventive & Predictive Medicine, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milano, Italy. Sabina.Sieri@istitutotumori.mi.it

Keywords

Humans, Body Weight, Starch, Dietary Carbohydrates, Dietary Sucrose, Dietary Fats, Dietary Proteins, Body Mass Index, Diet, Data Collection, Diet Surveys, Prospective Studies, Alcohol Drinking, Sex Factors, Energy Intake, Adult, Aged, Middle Aged, Friends, Educational Status, Diet Records, Europe, Female, Male