‘Drunchies’ making you fat?

Drunchies, or the desire to eat salty, unhealthy foods after a night of heavy drinking, may be contributing to the obesity epidemic among college students, scientists say. Researchers from University at Buffalo in the US decided to look at a sample of 286 college students to better understand how drinking affects what they eat, both that night and for their first meal the next day when, most likely, they are hungover.

“Given the obesity epidemic and the rates of alcohol consumption on college campuses, we need to be aware of not only the negative effect of alcohol consumption, but also the impact it has on what people are eating while they are drinking,” said Jessica Kruger, an assistant professor at the University at Buffalo.

Research on the effects of drinking and diet is scarce, Kruger said, adding that eating more unhealthy foods following alcohol consumption is an often overlooked behaviour in traditional addiction research. The inspiration for the study, published in the Californian Journal of Health Promotion, came from an ad researchers saw in a university newspaper. “It said, ‘Got Drunchies?’ and had ads for pizza, tacos, and other fast-food places that were open late after the bars closed,” Kruger said.

An average beer contains 150 calories. If a person drinks five beers, it accounts for third of their daily energy intake. Add two slices of pizza or a burrito to that at the end of the night, and it’s a recipe for weight gain, she said.

Researchers found that drinking influenced study participants’ dietary behaviours before going to bed. All alcohol drinkers were more likely to eat something before they went to bed after drinking alcohol than in general before they go to bed. Specifically, they were more likely to opt for salty snack foods and pizza.