Related Experiment Videos
Body mass index and alcohol use
Katie D Kleiner1, Mark S Gold, Kimberly Frost-Pineda
1College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA.
Journal of Addictive Diseases
|July 17, 2004
Summary
Higher body mass index (BMI) in women is linked to lower alcohol consumption. Obesity may reduce alcohol
Area of Science:
- Addiction research
- Obesity studies
- Neuroscience of reward
Background:
- Obesity, inactivity, and overweight are leading causes of morbidity and mortality.
- The relationship between eating, overeating, and addiction is under investigation.
- A hypothesis suggests drugs of abuse compete with food for brain reward sites, potentially making overeating and obesity protective against addiction.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and alcohol consumption in women.
- To examine if obesity influences alcohol use patterns in patients seeking weight management.
Main Methods:
- Reviewed 374 active weight management patient charts over 12 months.
- Analyzed demographic information, lab tests, psychiatric diagnoses, and alcohol/drug history from 298 female patients.
- Examined the correlation between BMI and alcohol use in this cohort.
Main Results:
- A significant inverse relationship was found between BMI and alcohol consumption (p < .05).
- Higher BMI levels correlated with decreased alcohol consumption.
- The percentage of women consuming alcohol decreased as BMI increased, supporting surgeons' observations.
Conclusions:
- Obese women exhibit lower rates of alcohol use compared to the general female population.
- Increasing BMI is associated with reduced alcohol consumption.
- Overeating might compete with alcohol for brain reward pathways, diminishing alcohol's reinforcing effects.