You’ve heard it said that drinking alcohol can cause a beer belly. While this may be true, the relationship between alcohol and weight gain isn’t as clear cut as you might think. While alcohol certainly has calories, it isn’t always easy to directly correlate alcohol intake with increases in weight. Does alcohol cause weight gain and should it be avoided if you’re serious about losing weight?
Alcohol can be a significant source of calories particularly if you overindulge. The average twelve ounce beer has around 130 calories; while the average serving of wine will add around 120 calories to your daily total. Obviously, if you drink a few beers or sip several glasses of wine before a meal, you’ll have taken in a significant number of calories before you even start to eat. If you do this on a consistent basis, you can see how the calories can add up.
Although you might assume that alcohol would cause significant weight gain under these circumstances, some studies have actually shown that drinking moderate amounts of alcohol may lower the risk of weight gain. One study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology showed that women who drink one to seven alcoholic drinks per week had a lower risk of gaining weight than women who abstained completely from alcohol. The reason for this is unclear, although various theories have been proposed. It’s possible that women who consume alcohol on a regular basis may be less inclined to eat other high calorie, sweet foods. Some studies have also shown that alcohol can slightly boost the metabolic rate which could lead to weight loss.
Interestingly, the same doesn’t seem to hold true for males. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that men who drank thirty or more grams of alcohol per day had a higher risk of obesity. This is considered to be high alcohol consumption, so it’s unclear what the results might have been if alcohol intake had been more moderate.
The key in determining whether alcohol causes weight gain may lie in how much and how often it’s consumed. It’s possible that light to moderate alcohol consumption may actually have some benefit when it comes to controlling weight, although studies addressing this issue are still ongoing. Higher levels of alcohol use would most likely promote weight due to the excess calories taken in.
The bottom line? The verdict is still out as to whether alcohol causes weight gain and should be avoided if you’re trying to slim down. Until more is known, keep in mind that alcohol has calories and should be included in your total daily caloric intake. A better option might be to drink green tea.
Reference:
- American Journal of Epidemiology Vol. 140, No. 10: 912-920
- American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1994, 59, 805-809.
- American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 77, No. 5, 1312-1317, May 2003
