Diets of drinkers on drinking and nondrinking days: NHANES 2003-2008

Alcohol may affect dietary intake. However, little is known about diets on drinking days in the US population.

We determined whether the diets of drinkers differ on drinking compared with nondrinking days.

Data were from the 2003-2008 NHANES Mobile Examination Center interview. We identified 1864 current drinkers (1126 men and 738 women) who completed two 24-h dietary recalls, one of which was on a drinking day and the other of which was on a nondrinking day. Sex-specific repeated-measures analyses that were adjusted for dietary recall order and recall day of the week were used to compare within-individual differences in energy, nutrient, and food-group intakes. Analyses were weighted to produce representative estimates.

On their drinking (compared with nondrinking) days, men consumed an excess 168 nonalcohol kcal (P < 0.01), which was reflected in higher intakes of nutrients including total protein (P < 0.001), total fat (P < 0.01), saturated fat (P < 0.01), monounsaturated fat (P < 0.01), potassium (P < 0.001), and sodium (P < 0.05). Men also had higher intakes of food groups including meat (P < 0.001), white potatoes (P < 0.05), and discretionary oil and solid fat (P < 0.05) and lower intakes of total fruit (P < 0.05) and milk (P < 0.05). Women did not consume excess nonalcohol kilocalories but had higher intakes of total fat (P < 0.05), monounsaturated fat (P < 0.05), polyunsaturated fat (P < 0.05), potassium (P < 0.01), and discretionary oil and solid fat (P < 0.05) and lower intakes of milk (P < 0.01) and milk products (P < 0.01).

These mostly moderate drinkers had poorer diets on drinking days. Same-day associations between alcohol and diet could be useful targets for public health efforts to improve dietary intake.