Recent research strongly suggests that alcohol adds fat to your belly. The reasons behind the phenomenon of a "beer belly" extend beyond the fact that most alcoholic drinks are loaded with calories but have little or no nutritional value. Drinking alcohol appears to alter the distribution of fat so that it more readily accumulates in your midsection than it does in other areas of your body.
Calories
The idea that the calories in alcohol alone cause you to add pounds or inches to your belly is a simplistic explanation for what is really happening to your body when you imbibe. Yes, the average beer packs a caloric wallop. A light beer weighs in at about 100 calories, while a regular bottle of brew weighs in with between 140 and 200 calories, according to the University of Rochester's Health Promotion Office. But empty calories aren't the only culprits creating the need for a bigger belt.
Fat Distribution
One study reveals that alcohol interferes with the way fat is distributed in the body. Published in the May 2011 "European Journal of Clinical Nutrition," the research shows that women who consumed more than two drinks per day over their lifetimes added inches to their waistlines. Those women, however, weighed about the same as women who did not drink, meaning that extra bit around the middle came from a glass. The same study found that men who drank the same amounts also added increased fat around their middles.
Alcohol Types
Beer is not the only kind of alcohol that impacts fat distribution, according to a Swedish study published in 2007 in the research journal "Obesity." A light beer and a 200-calorie shot of tequila are on the same footing when it comes to adding inches to your waist. "The association between total alcohol intake and abdominal obesity seemed to be mainly driven by liquor intake rather than by beer or wine intake," the study concludes.
Moderation
Getting or keeping a six-pack doesn't necessarily mean you have to become a teetotaler. Drinking in moderation can actually help you stay trim, according to a German study from 2004, as reported on the Elle magazine website in February 2010. The study tracked the weight gain of 49 people -- half drank a daily glass of grape juice, and half enjoyed a glass of white wine with dinner. The skinny on why the drinkers didn't add inches to their belly, however, lies in the fact that they stopped at one glass of wine each day.
References
- University of Rochester; Caloric Values of Alcoholic Beverages; May 2011
- Rapid News Network; New Study Shows Alcohol Makes Women Fat; Lorraine Reed; May 2011
- Nature.com; Alcohol Intake, Insulin Resistance, and Abdominal Obesity in Elderly Men; Ulf Risérus and Erik Ingelsson; 2007
- Elle; Alcohol and Calories: Does Drinking Cause Weight Gain?; Rachel Combe; February 2010
- "European Journal of Clinical Nutrition"; The Association of Lifetime Alcohol Use With Measures Of Abdominal and General Adiposity in a Large-Scale European Cohort; M.M. Bergmann, et. al.; May 2011
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