Eating habits resulting from a combination of stress and alcohol consumption

Abstract

Objective: We evaluated the eating habits of people with respect to their stress level and alcohol consumption, to suggest improvement in their habits.

Methods: Data from an online survey conducted in November 2020 were used. The participants included 2092 men and 1526 women aged 20–64 years. They were divided into four groups: High Stress/High risk Drinkers: HS/HD group, High Stress/Moderate Drinkers: HS/MD group, Low Stress/High risk Drinkers: LS/HD group, and Low Stress/Moderate Drinkers: LS/MD group. We investigated the relationship between them, the amount of consumption of sweets and snacks, and the frequency of fried food consumption, well-balanced diet, and vegetable dish consumption per day using logistic regression analysis by sex.

Results: Adjusting for demographics, smoking status, and body type, as compared to LS/MD group, participants in HS/HD group consumed more fried food, four or more times a week (adjusted odds ratio of men: 3.19, women: 3.68). Men consumed sweets and snacks consisting 200 or higher kcal per day (adjusted odds ratio: 2.91); only a few among women participants in HS/HD group had a well-balanced diet per day (adjusted odds ratio: 0.68). Among both genders in LS/HD group, most had undesirable eating habits like consuming fried food; specifically, men consumed more snacks. A few participants in HS/MD group had a well-balanced diet per day.

Conclusions: Undesirable eating habits were observed among participants with high stress and high alcohol consumption. We found that eating habits differ depending on the combination of stress and alcohol consumption.