Abstract

Background: The transition from adolescence to adulthood is a critical stage of the life cycle in which risk behaviors are established or strengthened. The objective of this study is to associate weekend alcohol consumption with Body Mass Index (BMI), diet, sleep quality and tobacco use among Chilean university students, according to their gender. Methods: For this descriptive, cross-sectional study, a total of 1,455 students from 5 Chilean universities were evaluated. The sample was selected using a non-probabilistic approach. A self-administered questionnaire was used to determine dietary habits and insomnia; the Insomnia Severity Index was also used. An anthropometric evaluation was carried out to measure weight, height and waist circumference. Results: The sample was mostly female (78.0%) and 26.0% reported weekend alcohol consumption (35.7% of this 26.0% were male and 64.3% female). Students who consume alcohol have an overall higher score for unhealthy diet and insomnia, as compared to non-consumers. Among men, those who consumed alcohol reported a greater consumption of soft drinks, fried food and pizza; on the other hand, women who consumed alcohol had a greater consumption of pizza, fried food and cookies. No relationship was found between alcohol consumption and BMI or abdominal fat for the total sample or by gender. Conclusion: In our sample of Chilean university students, weekend alcohol consumption was associated with an unhealthy diet and insomnia, however, we did not observe an association with BMI or abdominal fat.