Alcohol consumption and overweight in Brazilian adults - CUME Project

This is a cross-sectional study with 2,909 participants (aged ≥18 years) from the baseline of the Cohort of Universities of Minas Gerais [CUME - Coorte de Universidades Mineiras] which verified the association between alcohol consumption and overweight. Data on sociodemographic factors, lifestyle, eating habits, anthropometric factors and clinical conditions were collected through an online questionnaire. Body mass index ≥ 25 kg/m² was considered an indicator of overweight. The daily consumption of alcohol was evaluated in grams (alcohol) and according to type in milliliters (beer, wine, hard liquor). The prevalence of alcohol consumption and overweight was 73.6% and 40.8%, respectively. There was a significant tendency of an increase in overweight with higher beer consumption (tendency p value of 0.038), which was not observed for the other types of alcohol. After sensitivity analyses, alcohol consumption was associated to overweight, with a tendency of increase in prevalence with higher daily consumption. There is a crucial need to curb the widely accepted idea that a low or moderate alcohol consumption is not harmful to one's health, and to be cautious of such a proposition. The influence of alcohol consumption regarding weight gain must be considered in public health policies and policies of alcohol consumption control.