title: Food-alcohol competition: As young females eat more food, do they drink less alcohol?
abstract: Seminal health behaviour theories and behaviour modification techniques are applied to health behaviours individually. Limited empirical work investigates how change in one health behaviour may change another. This study proposes a food-alcohol competition hypothesis, where individuals tend to consume one rewarding substance to the other's exclusion. In a large sample of adolescent girls assessed yearly from age 15 to 19, Latent Growth Modelling indicated that a tendency to consume processed or sweet high-fat foods 'competed' with a tendency to drink alcohol. In order to best improve overall health, it is important to consider interrelationships between food and alcohol consumption.
authors.affiliation: University of California, Los Angeles, USA.
authors.forename: Jenna R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Cummings
authors.affiliation: University of California, Los Angeles, USA.
authors.forename: Lara A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Ray
authors.affiliation: University of California, Los Angeles, USA.
authors.forename: A Janet
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Tomiyama
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D004435:Eating / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: adolescence; behavioural medicine; drinking behaviour; eating behaviour; theory