The impact of bodyweight and body mass index on subjective intoxication and alcohol hangover severity

Anecdotal evidence suggests that individuals with greater body weight report lower levels of subjective intoxication (i.e., drunkenness), experience hangovers less frequently, and report lower hangover severity scores compared to individuals of lower body weight. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship of body weight and body mass index (BMI) with subjective intoxication, hangover frequency, and hangover severity. Data were combined from two online surveys conducted among adults aged 18–94 years in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Ireland. Information on weekly alcohol consumption and the heaviest drinking occasion in the past month was collected. Subjective intoxication, hangover frequency in the past year, and hangover severity on the past month’s heaviest drinking occasion were compared across BMI groups (underweight, normal weight, pre-obesity, and obesity classes I, II, and III). Age, sex, alcohol intake, and drinking duration during the past month’s heaviest drinking occasion were taken into account as covariates (confounding variables). Controlling for these confounders, partial correlations were computed between body weight and BMI with subjective intoxication, hangover frequency, and hangover severity. Data from 1,615 social drinkers (mean age: 37.9 years; 74.7% females) were analyzed. No significant differences were found between BMI groups for subjective intoxication, hangover frequency, and hangover severity. Similarly, partial correlations of body weight and BMI with these outcomes were not statistically significant. In conclusion, no evidence was found for a significant relationship between body weight or BMI and subjective intoxication, hangover frequency, and hangover severity.