Dietary and lifestyle habits of drinkers with preference for alcoholic beverage: does it really matter for public health? A review of the evidence

Although the detrimental effects of heavy drinking in terms of health are well-documented in the literature, there are inconsistent findings regarding the safety of light-to-moderate alcohol consumption. In particular, little is still known about the consumption of specific alcoholic beverages in combination with dietary habits and lifestyle, which in turn could influence health status. Thus, the aim of this review is to summarise and critically evaluate the evidence of a relationship between preference for alcoholic beverages and consumer dietary and lifestyle habits. A literature search retrieved 3,887 articles. By removing duplicates and articles which were not relevant, the final number of articles was 26. The adherence to a healthier diet and lifestyle was generally observed in light-to-moderate alcohol consumers, especially when wine was the preferred beverage. Considering the potentially strong impact of drinking patterns on health and the risk of developing chronic diseases, the data summarised in this review highlight that alcoholic beverage preferences, drinking patterns, dietary patterns and lifestyle should be studied together. Any future epidemiological studies should analyse the relationship between alcohol consumption and the abovementioned correlations with respect to impact on health.