Among people who drink alcohol, beer-only drinkers have the worst diets and are the least active, a new study found.
Scheduled to be presented at The Liver Meeting on Sunday and simultaneously published in the journal "Nutrients," the study looked into the diet quality of people who consumed alcohol. A preview of the study's results was published on Eureka Alert.
Researchers surveyed over 1,900 U.S. adults, comparing the eating habits of beer-only drinkers (38.9%), wine-only (21.8%), liquor-only 18.2%), and combination drinkers (21%) against the Healthy Eating Index (HEI), a USDA-approved standardized measure of diet quality.
They found that while all groups were far from meeting the 80-point adequate diet based on the 100-point HEI, beer-only drinkers scored the lowest at just 49 points. The group, who were more likely to be younger males, smokers, and low-income, also had the highest total daily caloric intake and the lowest physical activity level.
This was followed by liquor-only and combination drinkers at 53, and wine-only drinkers who scored 55.
Madeline Novack, chief resident at Tulane School of Medicine’s internal medicine residency program and the study's lead author, pointed out that the diet quality may be related to the context in which the drinks and food were being consumed. Beer is often offered in settings where foods are usually low in fiber, high in carbohydrates, and processed. Wine, on the other hand, is often paired with a more complete meal of meat and vegetables.
The researchers hope that the results of the study could help prevent liver diseases and other health problems in alcohol drinkers.
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