Dietary Taurine and Nutrient Intake and Dietary Quality by Alcohol Consumption Level in Korean Male College Students

Abstract

Heavy alcohol consumption is related to various negative healthy consequences. To investigate difference of taurine intake according to the alcohol consumption level, we studied body composition, intake of dietary nutrients including taurine, and dietary quality in Korean male college students that were divided according to their alcohol consumption level. Surveys were conducted using a questionnaire and a 3-day recall method for assessing dietary intake in 220 male college students residing in Incheon, Korea. The subjects were divided into two groups by alcohol consumption level: heavy drinking group (average drinking over 5 cans (355 ml) of beer or 7 shots (45 ml) of soju) and light drinking group (average drinking less than 5 cans of beer or 7 shots of soju or not drinking any alcohol at all at one time during the previous month). The average body mass index (BMI) in the heavy drinking group was significantly higher compared to the light drinking group (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in dietary taurine intake between heavy and light drinking group. With regard to the dietary quality evaluation of the subjects, the nutrient densities (ND) of carbohydrate, niacin, vitamin C, and zinc in the heavy drinking group were significantly lower than those of the light drinking group. Therefore, continuous nutrition education for heavy drinking Korean male college students may be needed to improve balanced nutritional status and further studies such as case–control study or taurine intervention study are required to know the relationship between dietary taurine intake and alcohol consumption.