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The relation between drinking pattern and body mass index and waist and hip circumference

International Journal of Obesity volume 29, pages 490–497 (2005)Cite this article

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:

To study the association between alcohol drinking pattern and obesity.

DESIGN:

Cross-sectional population study with assessment of quantity and frequency of alcohol intake, waist and hip circumference, height, weight, and lifestyle factors including diet.

SUBJECTS:

In all, 25 325 men and 24 552 women aged 50–65 y from the Diet, Cancer and Health Study, Denmark, 1993–1997 participated in the study.

MEASUREMENTS:

Drinking frequency, total alcohol intake, body mass index (BMI), and waist and hip circumference.

RESULTS:

Among men, total alcohol intake was positively associated with high BMI (≥30 kg/m2), large waist circumference (≥102 cm) and inversely associated with small hip circumference (<100 cm). Among women, the total alcohol was associated with high BMI, large waist (≥88 cm), and small hips only for the highest intake (28+ drinks/week). The most frequent drinkers had the lowest odds ratios (OR) for being obese. Among men, OR for having a high BMI were 1.39 (95% confidence interval: 1.36–1.64), 1.17 (1.02–1.34), 1.00 (reference), 0.87 (0.77–0.98), and 0.73 (0.65–0.82) for drinking 1–3 days/month, 1 day/week, 2–4 days/week, 5–6 days/week, and 7 days/week, respectively. Similar estimates were found for waist circumference. Corresponding results were found for women.

CONCLUSION:

For a given level of total alcohol intake, obesity was inversely associated with drinking frequency, whereas the amount of alcohol intake was positively associated with obesity. These results indicate that frequent drinking of small amounts of alcohol is the optimal drinking pattern in this relation.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by grants from the Danish Cancer Society, the Danish National Board of Health and the Health Insurance Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Alcohol Research, National Institute of Public Health, Copenhagen, Denmark

    J S Tolstrup & M N Grønbæk

  2. Research Unit for Dietary Studies and Danish Epidemiology Science Centre at the Institute of Preventive Medicine, Copenhagen, Denmark

    B L Heitmann & T I A Sørensen

  3. The Danish Cancer Society, Institute of Cancer Epidemiology, Copenhagen, Denmark

    A M Tjønneland

  4. Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Aalborg Hospital, Aarhus University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark

    O K Overvad

Authors
  1. J S Tolstrup
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  2. B L Heitmann
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Correspondence to J S Tolstrup.

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Tolstrup, J., Heitmann, B., Tjønneland, A. et al. The relation between drinking pattern and body mass index and waist and hip circumference. Int J Obes 29, 490–497 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0802874

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