T

Jessica Sloan Kruger, MSHE

Daniel J. Kruger, Ph.D
Abstract: Although the associations between the consumption of alcohol, unhealthy foods, and obesity are
known, there is no consensus on the mechanisms involved. Previous research demonstrates that the type of
foods available during the peak times for alcohol consumption dier from those available at other times.
Advertisements targeting college students indicate an awareness of increased cravings for junk foods fol-
lowing alcohol consumption, however there is no previous research on how alcohol consumption aects
actual dietary choices dierentially by type of food, in comparison to non-alcohol related food consump-
tion. e current study demonstrates that college students food cravings increase, consumption of fruits and
vegetables is lower, and consumption of junk foods is higher with alcohol consumption than at other times.
Respondents reported eating something that they were craving the majority (57%) of the time; however,
on average they ate something healthier than what they were craving 27% of the time. ese ndings help
to clarify the behavioral mechanisms underlying the relationship between alcohol consumption, unhealthy
dietary behaviors, and obesity.

Keywords: food choices; alcohol consumption; junk food; drunchies

INTRODUCTION dents (Lloyd-Richardson, Bailey, Fava, & Wing,

College students have a high preva-
lence of alcohol consumption (Ham & Hope,
2003; Jones, Chryssanthakis, & Groom,
2014). In 2008, 69% of college students re-
ported drinking alcohol in the past month
(Ilgen et al., 2011). Drinking alcohol can
reduce students inhibitions and lead them to
engage in behaviors that they may not engage in
when they are not drinking (Ilgen et al., 2011).
e drunchies is a portmanteau of
drunken munchies, a colloquial term for crav-
ings for food, especially those foods high in fat
and sodium, occurring due to alcohol consump-
tion. is term is currently used in the market-
ing of fast food to college students (Eatstreet.
com, 2014), though it has not been previously
documented in the scienti c literature. Alcohol
consumption can have a signi cant impact on col-
lege students dietary patterns, among other health
related behaviors. Eating more and/or consuming
less nutritious foods while drinking may impact
many negative health outcomes such as obesity.
College freshman who drank more alcoholic bev-
erages had a higher rst semester Body Mass Index
(BMI) (Lloyd-Richardson, Lucero, DiBello, Ja-
cobson, & Wing, 2008). Lloyd-Richardson et al.
(2008) found that students engaged in late-night
eating and experienced the drunk munchies,
which is considered to be a disinhibition leading
to eating large quantitates of high-fat foods. is
late night eating is common among college stu-
2009) and students who drank alcohol consumed
lager quantities of food and made less healthy food
choices as a result of drinking.
College students alcohol consumption
typically occurs during the evening and week-
ends. e highest rates of drinking are seen on
ursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings, due to
many students not having Friday classes or classes
until Monday (Wood, Sher, & Rutledge, 2007).
Because alcohol drinking begins later in the day,
food options are scarcer when it occurs. Typically,
foods considered to be unhealthy are more read-
ily available during the time most college students
would be consuming alcohol compared to health-
ier foods. Most wait service dinner restaurants
close between 9:00 and 11:00 pm, yet the food
providers with high fat, high calorie options stay
open 24 hours a day or into the early morning
hours (Nelson, Kocos, Lytle, & Perry, 2009). e
lack of access to healthy foods could explain, in
whole or part, the higher intake of high-fat foods
among college students who drink alcohol.
e nutritional literature continually de-
bates the identity of the mechanism linking alco-
hol consumption and food consumption. Previ-
ous papers have concluded that there is no clear
explanation for the short term ability for alcohol
to enhance appetite (Yeomans, 2004; Yeomans,
2010). Some hold that alcohol enhances the
short-term rewarding eects of ingestion, most
likely through pharmacological action (Yeomans,
2010). Others provide evidence that alcohol con-

Send correspondence to: Jessica Sloan Kruger, MSHE currently a Ph.D. Student in Health Education at the
University of Toledo, Phone +18104413881, Fax 419-530-4759 University of Toledo Mailstop 119, Oce
#1003K Toledo, Ohio 43606, jessica.sloan2@rockets.utoledu.edu; Daniel J. Kruger, Ph.D. is a Research
Assistant Professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Michigan

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sumption increases the in uence of implicit atti-
tudes while decreasing the in uence of re ective
cognition towards food cues (Hofmann & Friese,
2008). Alcohol is a diuretic (Murray, 1932); de-
hydration associated with alcohol consumption
may induce cravings for salt in order to promote
water retention (Beauchamp, Bertino, Burke, &
Engelman, 1990). Rather than resolve the debate
on internal mechanisms, the current study focuses
on proving a better understanding of how alcohol
consumption may dierentially aect the con-
sumption of healthy and unhealthy foods among
college students. Little is known on how alcohol
consumption aects actual dietary choices, in
comparison to food consumption at other times.
We hypothesized that college students would be
more likely to consume fast foods and less likely to
consume fruits and vegetables after drinking alco-
hol, compared to at other times.
MATERIALS
Participants
e University of Michigans Institutional
Review Board approved this study prior to data
collection. A sample of ethnically diverse under-
graduates at a large public university in the Mid-
western United States completed an anonymous
on-line survey at their convenience. Respondents
enrolled in the Introductory Psychology Partici-
pant Pool received course credit for completing
the survey, and the sample represents researcher
participant pool allocations for two academic
terms (Fall 2014 and Winter 2015). All partici-
pants completed the survey.
We retained participants who reported ever
using alcohol for the current study (N = 262; 51%
female, M age = 19, SD age = 1), we excluded
77 participants who reported not ever drinking
alcohol. ese participants reported that their
grandparents were Western European (51.1%),
Eastern European (42.7%), East Asian (9.9%),
Arab/Middle-Eastern (5.7%), African-American
(5.3%), South Asian (5.0%), Latino/a or Hispanic
(5.0%), Native American/Alaskan Native (1.1%),
Paci c Islander (1.1%), and Other (5.0%), inclu-
sively. is sample size enables statistical power (1
- B) of .89 for small eects (d = .20) and .99 for
medium (d = .50) and large (d = .80) eects in
two-tailed tests and .94, .99, and .99 respectively
for one-tailed tests of directional predictions (see
Cohen, 1988). We anticipated a medium eect
size, for comparison the average eect size in social
psychology is d = .43 (Richard, Bond, & Stokes-
Zoota, 2003). us, our analyses are adequately
powered.
Survey
e survey included the Behavioral Risk
Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) fruit and veg-
etable consumption items, and parallel items on
junk food consumption (including salted snack
foods, candy, sweet desserts, fried fast food, ham-
Kruger.J, Kruger D.
burgers, pizza, tacos, and soda/pop with sugar).
Participants indicated how many drinks they
consumed on average and answered an additional
set of items based on the BRFSS fruit and veg-
etable and junk food items, "Are you more or less
likely to eat or drink the following kinds of foods
when you drink alcohol" (1 = Much less likely...5
= Much more likely). Participants also answered:
"How frequent are your food cravings when you
drink alcohol, compared to other times?," "How
intense are your food cravings when you drink
alcohol, compared to other times?," "How many
alcoholic drinks does it usually take for you to get
food cravings?," "When you drink alcohol, what
percentage of the time do you:-Have food crav-
ings?/Eat something you are craving?/ Eat some-
thing healthier than what you are craving?" e
last three items were answered with a sliding scale
ranging from 0 to 100 and initially set at 50.
RESULTS
Participants reported that their food crav-
ings were more frequent, t(261) = 13.21, p <
.001, d = .82, and more intense, t(261) = 13.18,
p < .001, d = .81, when they consumed alcohol
compared to other times. Participants were less
likely to consume nutritious foods and more like-
ly to consume junk foods when they consumed
alcohol compared to other times (See Table 1).
Participants reported having food cravings 58%
of the time when they were drinking (SD = 26),
eating something they were craving 57% of the
time (SD = 25), and eating something healthier
than what they were craving 27% of the time (SD
= 23). Tendencies to eat something healthier than
what participants were craving were associated
with higher overall fruit and vegetable consump-
tion, r(262) = .170, p = .007, and lower overall
junk food consumption, r(262) = -.161, p = .009.
Although we did not assess self-perceived
levels of intoxication, 48% of women and 50%
of men reported average alcohol consumption
consistent with binge drinking (4 and 5 alcoholic
drinks at one time, respectively; NIAAA, 2004).
e level of average alcohol consumption directly
predicted the increased frequency of food crav-
ings after consuming alcohol, r(301) = .316, p
< .001, the frequency of consuming something
being craved, r(301) = .405, p < .001, and the
increased overall likelihood of consuming junk
foods, r(259) = .157, p = .012. However, the re-
ported level of average alcohol consumption did
not predict increased intensity of food cravings,
eating something healthier than what they were
craving, or fruit and vegetable consumption after
consuming alcohol.
CONCLUSION
Alcohol consumption is a risk factor for
unhealthy dietary behaviors and obesity. We dem-
onstrate that the foods students consume when
drinking alcohol are less healthy than what the
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 American Journal of Health Studies Vol 30 (2) 2015
same individuals consume at other times. Con-
sumption of fruits and vegetables is lower and
consumption of junk foods is higher comparted
to dietary behaviors at other times. ese ndings
help clarify the behavioral mechanisms underly-
ing the relationship between alcohol consump-
tion, unhealthy dietary behaviors, and obesity.
Another contributing factor is the food landscape
available in the late evening (Nelson et al., 2009).
Food providers surrounding university campuses
are likely aware of the types of food students crave
when they are drinking alcohol and likely shape
As with all research, this study has
strengths and limitations. Strengths include the
use of standard validated measures for diet re-
call, so that results can be compared to those of
many other studies. Additionally, testing this hy-
pothesis among college students is useful because
they are at most risk of engaging in unhealthy
eating behaviors resulting in weigh gain termed
the Freshman 15 (Mihalopoulos, Auinger, &
Klein, 2008). e Freshman 15 is the belief
that students gain 15 lbs. during their freshman
year of college. Although, most students do not

Table 1
Are you more or less likely to eat or drink the following kinds of foods when you drink alcohol?

Food Items M SD t p d
100% PURE fruit juices 2.60 1.07 -6.03 .001 -0.38

Fresh, frozen, or canned fruit 2.16 0.91 -14.90 .001 -0.92

Cooked or canned beans 2.14 0.95 -14.69 .001 -0.91

Dark green vegetables 1.97 0.92 -18.30 .001 -1.13

Orange-colored vegetables 1.99 0.95 -17.60 .001 -1.06

OTHER vegetables 2.08 0.99 -14.96 .001 -0.93

Salted snack foods 3.92 1.00 14.85 .001 0.92

Candy 3.52 1.05 8.04 .001 0.49

Sweet desserts 3.48 1.09 7.02 .001 0.44

Fried fast food 4.09 1.01 17.45 .001 1.08

Hamburgers 3.70 1.10 10.33 .001 0.64

Pizza 4.18 0.88 21.60 .001 1.34

Tacos 3.54 1.11 7.78 .001 0.48

Soda/pop with sugar 3.73 1.15 10.31 .001 0.64

Note: 1= Much less likely, 2 = Somewhat less likely, 3 = About the same, 4 = Somewhat more likely, 5 = Much more
likely
their oerings to attract such individuals. ese
ndings are consistent with previous work on
by (Lloyd-Richardson et al., 2009) that students
who drank alcohol made less healthy food choic-
es as a result of drinking. is study builds on
those ndings demonstrating that students crave
unhealthy foods and act on those cravings more
often when drinking.
gain 15 lbs., freshman weight gain was 5.5 times
greater than that experienced by the general pop-
ulation (Mihalopoulos et al., 2008). In another
study, 70% of students experienced weight gain
in the rst semester of their freshman year (Lloyd-
Richardson et al., 2009).
Limitations are related to the self-report
cross-sectional survey design. Participants may

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 Kruger.J, Kruger D.
have answered the questions in a socially desirable R., Jacobson, A. E., & Wing, R. R. (2008). e
manner, though they were instructed to take the relationship between alcohol use, eating hab-
on-line survey in private and were able to com- its and weight change in college freshmen. Eat-
plete it at their convenience. Self-report responses ing Behaviors, 9(4), 504-508. doi: http://dx.doi.
are also subject to inaccurate recall. We also did org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2008.06.005
not determine the time of day for eating after alco- Mihalopoulos, N. L., Auinger, P., & Klein, J. D.
hol consumption or at other times. Examination (2008). e Freshman 15: is it real? Journal of
of dietary patterns by time could assess the in u- American College Health, 56(5), 531-534.
ence of dierential food environments. Murray, M. M. (1932). e diuretic action of al-
Further research should include observa- cohol and its relation to pituitrin. e Journal of
tional studies completed at various times of the Physiology, 76(3), 379-386. doi: 10.1113/jphysi-
day, which document the true number of alco- ol.1932.sp002933
holic beverages students consume along with the Nelson, M. C., Kocos, R., Lytle, L. A., & Perry,
type and amount of food they tend to consume C. L. (2009). Understanding the Perceived De-
while drinking. Some people are able to resist un- terminants of Weight-related Behaviors in Late
healthy food cravings, thus interventions to help Adolescence: A Qualitative Analysis among Col-
reduce the impact of the "drunchies" may improve lege Youth. Journal of Nutrition Education and
student health behaviors and outcomes. Reducing Behavior, 41(4), 287-292. doi: http://dx.doi.
the amount of unhealthy foods that college stu- org/10.1016/j.jneb.2008.05.005
dents consume while drinking alcohol may reduce Wood, P. K., Sher, K. J., & Rutledge, P. C. (2007).
obesity and improve other health outcomes. College Student Alcohol Consumption, Day of
the Week, and Class Schedule. Alcoholism: Clini-
Acknowledgements cal and Experimental Research, 31(7), 1195-1207.
We would like to thank Dr. Jon Elhai at the Univer- doi: 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2007.00402.x
sity of Toledo for his guidance on this manuscript. Yeomans, M. R. (2004). Eects of alcohol on food
and energy intake in human subjects: evidence for
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