Beer drinkers eat worse, are less physically active and are more likely to be smokers than those who drink wine and spirits, according to American research presented at a scientific congress on liver diseases and published in the journal Nutrients.
Alcohol, regardless of type, increases the risk of a range of diseases, including cancer. To investigate whether the type of alcohol someone drinks is linked to other lifestyle factors, researchers analyzed answers from a national survey with information on, among other things, alcohol and eating habits.
More Unhealthy
In total, the study included 1,900 adult participants in the USA who reported drinking alcohol. Of these, 39 percent drank only beer, 22 percent only wine, and 18 percent only spirits. 21 percent reported drinking a combination of different types of alcohol.
Based on their answers, participants were placed on a 100-point scale for how healthy they ate. The results showed that those who only drank beer scored an average of 49 points, wine drinkers 55, and combination drinkers 53 points.
Different Contexts
Beer drinkers, who were mainly men, also had an overall less healthy lifestyle than the other two groups. They were more often smokers and had a higher daily calorie intake. Beer drinkers were also more likely to be low-income earners than wine and spirits drinkers.
Madeline Novack, one of the researchers behind the study, says in a press release that the difference in diet between groups may be due to the fact that beer is often served in contexts where food traditionally contains little fiber and has a high content of carbohydrates and processed meat. Wine, on the other hand, is often paired with vegetables and dairy products in addition to meat.
