Cheers, maybe, maybe not! Light to moderate drinking may keep the pounds away. Normal weight women who drank 5 – 30 grams of alcohol daily gained less weight and had a lower risk of risk of becoming overweight or obese than either tee toddlers or women who drank to much according to the March issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.
A 12- ounce beer contains 11 grams of alcohol, 5 ounces of red wine contain 15 to 16 grams and a 1.5 ounce of whiskey contains 14 grams of alcohol. Alcohol is high in calories and in the long run may result in weight gain.
The researchers conducted an analysis of data of 19,220 women participating in the Women’s Health Study, all were over the age of 38, disease free and had a normal body mass baseline. They reported their weight and alcohol consumption on a questionnaire at the start of the study and reported their weight again on eight annual follow-up questionnaires. They were followed for 12.9 years. During that time 41.35% of the women became overweight or obese, while 3.8% became obese. The average weight gain was 8 pounds for those who didn’t drink and 3.5 for those who were moderate drinkers.
The researchers found an inverse relationship between alcohol consumption and subsequent weight gain. Weight gain was largest for women who did not consume alcohol then steadily decreased with increasing alcohol intake. After adjusting for variables as nonalcoholic intake, lifestyle factors, the risk of becoming overweight or obese diminished as women drank more moderately. This association tends to differ with men who seem to add dietary intake, while women substitute dietary intake for alcohol. Gender differences regarding alcohol metabolism may also play a role. The researchers called for further investigation into the relationship between alcohol intake and weight gain.
Take home message- Balance, we can’t escape the fact that when alcohol is consumed it is fast calories. To avoid weight gain it is wise to scale back dietary intake.
