Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Original Article
  • Published:

The association of lifetime alcohol use with measures of abdominal and general adiposity in a large-scale European cohort

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 65, pages 1079–1087 (2011)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background/Objectives:

The relation between lifetime use of alcohol and measures of abdominal and general adiposity is unknown.

Subjects/Methods:

Among 99 381 men and 158 796 women of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study, means of waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip-ratio (WHR) and body mass index (BMI), and odds ratios (OR) for a larger WC than predicted for a given BMI (WClp=positive residuals of gender specific linear regression of BMI on WC) across categories of average lifetime use of alcohol (total, from wine and from beer) were calculated, all adjusted for socio-demographic, lifestyle and health factors.

Results:

WC, WHR and BMI in men using lifetime ⩽6 g/d alcohol were 95.1 cm, 0.942 and 27.3 kg/m2, and 96.2 cm, 0.961 and 28.3 kg/m2 when using >96 g/d. WC and WHR in women was 83.2 cm and 0.813 for ⩽6 g/d, and 84.6 cm and 0.830 for >60 g/d, whereas BMI deviated only slightly with the lowest BMI (26.7 kg/m2) observed for >6–24 g/d. Compared with ⩽6 g/d, OR for a WClp in both genders increased steadily across categories of alcohol use (up to 1.40 (95% confidence interval 1.32, 1.49) in men using >60 g/d and 1.63 (1.54, 1.73) in women using >24 g/d), though increase was higher for alcohol from beer than from wine (P for difference between beer and wine<0.001 (men) and=0.002 (women)).

Conclusion:

Lifetime alcohol use is positively related to abdominal and general adiposity in men, possibly following the male weight gain pattern; in women, it is positively related only to abdominal adiposity. In this context, beer may contribute additionally to abdominal adiposity.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1
Figure 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bingham SA, Gill C, Welch A, Day K, Cassidy A, Khaw KT et al. (1994). Comparison of dietary assessment methods in nutritional epidemiology: weighed records v. 24 h recalls, food-frequency questionnaires and estimated-diet records. Br J Nutr 72, 619–643.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bjorntorp P (1990). Obesity and diabetes. In: Alberti KGMM and Krall LP (eds). The Diabetes Annual/5, pp 373–395. Elsevier: Amsterdam.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blouin K, Boivin A, Tchernof A (2008). Androgens and body fat distribution. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol 108, 272–280.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bobak M, Skodova Z, Marmot M (2003). Beer and obesity: a cross-sectional study. Eur J Clin Nutr 57, 1250–1253.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Buemann B, Astrup A (2001). How does the body deal with energy from alcohol? Nutrition 17, 638–641.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Caldwell TM, Rodgers B, Power C, Clark C, Stansfeld SA (2006). Drinking histories of self-identified lifetime abstainers and occasional drinkers: findings from the 1958 British Birth Cohort Study. Alcohol Alcohol 41, 650–654.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dallongeville J, Marecaux N, Ducimetiere P, Ferrieres J, Arveiler D, Bingham A et al. (1998). Influence of alcohol consumption and various beverages on waist girth and waist-to-hip ratio in a sample of French men and women. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 22, 1178–1183.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Duncan BB, Chambless LE, Schmidt MI, Folsom AR, Szklo M, Crouse III JR et al. (1995). Association of the waist-to-hip ratio is different with wine than with beer or hard liquor consumption. Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study Investigators. Am J Epidemiol 142, 1034–1038.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Eriksson CJ, Fukunaga T, Lindman R (1994). Sex hormone response to alcohol. Nature 369, 711.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Friesema IH, Veenstra MY, Zwietering PJ, Knottnerus JA, Garretsen HF, Lemmens PH (2004). Measurement of lifetime alcohol intake: utility of a self-administered questionnaire. Am J Epidemiol 159, 809–817.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Grinker JA, Tucker K, Vokonas PS, Rush D (1995). Body habitus changes among adult males from the normative aging study: relations to aging, smoking history and alcohol intake. Obes Res 3, 435–446.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Haftenberger M, Lahmann PH, Panico S, Gonzalez CA, Seidell JC, Boeing H et al. (2002). Overweight, obesity and fat distribution in 50- to 64-year-old participants in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). Public Health Nutr 5, 1147–1162.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Halkjaer J, Sorensen TI, Tjonneland A, Togo P, Holst C, Heitmann BL (2004). Food and drinking patterns as predictors of 6-year BMI-adjusted changes in waist circumference. Br J Nutr 92, 735–748.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Halkjaer J, Tjonneland A, Thomsen BL, Overvad K, Sorensen TI (2006). Intake of macronutrients as predictors of 5-y changes in waist circumference. Am J Clin Nutr 84, 789–797.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Han TS, Bijnen FC, Lean ME, Seidell JC (1998). Separate associations of waist and hip circumference with lifestyle factors. Int J Epidemiol 27, 422–430.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Higgins JP, Thompson SG, Deeks JJ, Altman DG (2003). Measuring inconsistency in meta-analyses. BMJ 327, 557–560.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Khaw KT, Barrett-Connor E (1992). Lower endogenous androgens predict central adiposity in men. Ann Epidemiol 2, 675–682.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Klipstein-Grobusch K, Slimani N, Krogh V, Keil U, Boeing H, Overvad K et al. (2002). Trends in self-reported past alcoholic beverage consumption and ethanol intake from 1950 to 1995 observed in eight European countries participating in the European Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). Public Health Nutr 5, 1297–1310.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Koh-Banerjee P, Chu NF, Spiegelman D, Rosner B, Colditz G, Willett W et al. (2003). Prospective study of the association of changes in dietary intake, physical activity, alcohol consumption, and smoking with 9-y gain in waist circumference among 16 587 US men. Am J Clin Nutr 78, 719–727.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Laws A, Terry RB, Barrett-Connor E (1990). Behavioral covariates of waist-to-hip ratio in Rancho Bernardo. Am J Public Health 80, 1358–1362.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lemmens PH (1994). The alcohol content of self-report and ‘standard’ drinks. Addiction 89, 593–601.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lemmens PH, Volovics L, DeHaan Y (1997). Measurement of lifetime exposure to alcohol: data quality of a self-administered questionnaire and impact on risk assessment. Contemporary Drug Problems 24, 581–600.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lukasiewicz E, Mennen LI, Bertrais S, Arnault N, Preziosi P, Galan P et al. (2005). Alcohol intake in relation to body mass index and waist-to-hip ratio: the importance of type of alcoholic beverage. Public Health Nutr 8, 315–320.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marti B, Tuomilehto J, Salomaa V, Kartovaara L, Korhonen HJ, Pietinen P (1991). Body fat distribution in the Finnish population: environmental determinants and predictive power for cardiovascular risk factor levels. J Epidemiol Community Health 45, 131–137.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Park JY, Mitrou PN, Keogh RH, Luben RN, Wareham NJ, Khaw K-T (2011). Effects of body size and sociodemographic characteristics on differences between self-reported and measured anthropometric data in middle-aged men and women: the EPIC-Norfolk study. Eur J Clin Nutr 65, 357–367.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pischon T, Boeing H, Hoffmann K, Bergmann M, Schulze MB, Overvad K et al. (2008). General and abdominal adiposity with risk of death in Europe. New Engl J Med 359, 2105–2120.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Randrianjohany A, Balkau B, Cubeau J, Ducimetiere P, Warnet JM, Eschwege E (1993). The relationship between behavioural pattern, overall and central adiposity in a population of healthy French men. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 17, 651–655.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Riboli E, Hunt KJ, Slimani N, Ferrari P, Norat T, Fahey M et al. (2002). European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC): study populations and data collection. Public Health Nutr 5, 1113–1124.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sarkola T, Adlercreutz H, Heinonen S, von der Pahlen B, Eriksson CJP (2001). The role of the liver in the acute effect of alcohol on androgens in women. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 86, 1981–1985.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sarkola T, Fukunaga T, Makisalo H, Peter Eriksson CJ (2000). Acute effect of alcohol on androgens in premenopausal women. Alcohol Alcohol 35, 84–90.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Slattery ML, McDonald A, Bild DE, Caan BJ, Hilner JE, Jacobs Jr DR et al. (1992). Associations of body fat and its distribution with dietary intake, physical activity, alcohol, and smoking in blacks and whites. Am J Clin Nutr 55, 943–949.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Slimani N, Deharveng G, Charrondiere RU, van Kappel AL, Ocke MC, Welch A et al. (1999). Structure of the standardized computerized 24-h diet recall interview used as reference method in the 22 centers participating in the EPIC project. European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition. Comput Methods Programs Biomed 58, 251–266.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Slimani N, Deharveng G, Unwin I, Southgate DA, Vignat J, Skeie G et al. (2007). The EPIC nutrient database project (ENDB): a first attempt to standardize nutrient databases across the 10 European countries participating in the EPIC study. Eur J Clin Nutr 61, 1037–1056.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Suter PM (2005). Is alcohol consumption a risk factor for weight gain and obesity? Crit Rev Clin Lab Sci 42, 197–227.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Travier N, Agudo A, May AM, Gonzalez C, Luan J, Besson H et al. (2009). Smoking and body fatness measurements: a cross-sectional analysis in the EPIC-PANACEA study. Prev Med 49, 365–373.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Troisi RJ, Heinold JW, Vokonas PS, Weiss ST (1991). Cigarette smoking, dietary intake, and physical activity: effects on body fat distribution--the Normative Aging Study. Am J Clin Nutr 53, 1104–1111.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vadstrup ES, Petersen L, Sorensen TI, Gronbaek M (2003). Waist circumference in relation to history of amount and type of alcohol: results from the Copenhagen City Heart Study. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 27, 238–246.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vernay M, Balkau B, Moreau JG, Sigalas J, Chesnier MC, Ducimetiere P (2004). Alcohol consumption and insulin resistance syndrome parameters: associations and evolutions in a longitudinal analysis of the French DESIR cohort. Ann Epidemiol 14, 209–214.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wannamethee SG, Shaper AG, Whincup PH (2005). Alcohol and adiposity: effects of quantity and type of drink and time relation with meals. Int J Obes (Lond) 29, 1436–1444.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yeomans MR, Caton S, Hetherington MM (2003). Alcohol and food intake. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care 6, 639–644.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This publication arises from the project PANACEA, which has received funding from the European Union, in the framework of the Public Health Programme (project number: 2005328). The work was further financially supported by the European Commission: Public Health and Consumer Protection Directorate 1993–2004; Research Directorate-General 2005; Ligue contre le Cancer, Societé 3M, Mutuelle Générale de l’Education Nationale, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM; France); German Cancer Aid, German Cancer Research Center, Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Germany); Danish Cancer Society (Denmark); Health Research Fund (FIS) of the Spanish Ministry of Health, the participating regional governments and institutions (Spain); Cancer Research UK, Medical Research Council, Stroke Association, British Heart Foundation, Department of Health, Food Standards Agency, The Wellcome Trust (UK); Greek Ministry of Health and Social Solidarity, Hellenic Health Foundation and Stavros Niarchos Foundation (Greece); Italian Association for Research on Cancer, National Research Council (Italy); Dutch Ministry of Public Health, Welfare and Sports, Dutch Ministry of Health, Dutch Prevention Funds, LK Research Funds, Dutch ZON (Zorg Onderzoek Nederland), World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) (The Netherlands); Swedish Cancer Society, Swedish Scientific Council, Regional Government of Skane (Sweden); Norwegian Cancer Society (Norway). Special thank deserve Wolfgang Bernigau for his major support in conducting the statistical analysis.

Author information

Author notes

  1. A May and P H M Peeters: Joint last authors.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology, German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbrücke, Nuthetal, Germany

    M M Bergmann, M Schütze, A Steffen & H Boeing

  2. Department of Diet, Cancer and Health, Institute of Cancer Epidemiology, Danish Cancer Society, Copenhagen, Denmark

    J Halkjaer & A Tjonneland

  3. Unit of Nutrition, Environment and Cancer, Catalan Institute of Oncology, IDIBELL, Barcelona, Spain

    N Travier & A Agudo

  4. Dietary Exposure Assessment Group, International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC-WHO), Lyon, France

    N Slimani & S Rinaldi

  5. Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Imperial College London, UK

    T Norat, D Romaguera, P Vineis, E Riboli & P H M Peeters

  6. Division of Cancer Epidemiology, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany

    S Rohrmann & R Kaaks

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

    M U Jakobsen & K Overvad

  8. Department of Cardiology, Aalborg Hospital, Aarhus University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark

    K Overvad

  9. Medical Research Council, Epidemiology Unit, Cambridge, UK

    U Ekelund & N J Wareham

  10. Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, Cancer Epidemiology Unit, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    E A Spencer

  11. Public Health and Participation Directorate, Health and Health Care Services Council, Asturias, Spain

    L Rodríguez

  12. Granada Cancer Registry, Andalusian School of Public Health and CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Granada, Spain

    M J Sánchez

  13. Public Health Department of Gipuzkoa, San Sebastian, Spain

    M Dorronsoro

  14. Service of Epidemiology, Prevention and Health Promotion, Public Health Institute of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain

    A Barricarte

  15. Department of Epidemiology, Murcia Regional Health Authority, Murcia, Spain

    M-D Chirlaque

  16. CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Granada, Spain

    M-D Chirlaque

  17. Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, School of Medicine, University of Athens, Greece and Hellenic Health Foundation, Athens, Greece

    P Orfanos, A Naska & A Trichopoulou

  18. Molecular and Nutritional Epidemiology Unit, CSPO-Scientific Institute of Tuscany, Florence, Italy

    D Palli

  19. Nutritional Epidemiology Unit, National Cancer Institute, Milan, Italy

    S Grioni

  20. Department of Epidemiology and Life Sciences, Institute for Scientific Interchange Foundation, Torino, Italy

    P Vineis

  21. Dipartimento di Medicina Clinica e Sperimentale, Università di Napoli, Naples, Italy

    S Panico

  22. Cancer Registry and Histopathology Unit, ‘Civile M.P. Arezzo’ Hospital, Ragusa, Italy

    R Tumino

  23. Center for Nutrition and Health, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands

    B Bueno-de-Mesquita & A May

  24. Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    A May & P H M Peeters

Authors
  1. M M Bergmann
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. M Schütze
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. A Steffen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. H Boeing
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. J Halkjaer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. A Tjonneland
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. N Travier
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. A Agudo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. N Slimani
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. S Rinaldi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  11. T Norat
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  12. D Romaguera
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  13. S Rohrmann
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  14. R Kaaks
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  15. M U Jakobsen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  16. K Overvad
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  17. U Ekelund
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  18. E A Spencer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  19. L Rodríguez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  20. M J Sánchez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  21. M Dorronsoro
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  22. A Barricarte
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  23. M-D Chirlaque
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  24. P Orfanos
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  25. A Naska
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  26. A Trichopoulou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  27. D Palli
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  28. S Grioni
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  29. P Vineis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  30. S Panico
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  31. R Tumino
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  32. E Riboli
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  33. N J Wareham
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  34. B Bueno-de-Mesquita
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  35. A May
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  36. P H M Peeters
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to M M Bergmann.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Bergmann, M., Schütze, M., Steffen, A. et al. The association of lifetime alcohol use with measures of abdominal and general adiposity in a large-scale European cohort. Eur J Clin Nutr 65, 1079–1087 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2011.70

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2011.70

Keywords

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links