Despite containing a lot of energy, alcohol also doesn’t have the same satiating effect as solid food. Nevertheless, it looks like there’s some scientific support to it after all (or at least a “liquor belly” according to this newer study). You could blame your ancestors for this as they needed a way to store energy if they didn’t always have food.
Does Beer Really Cause a ‘Beer Belly’?
Most studies on alcohol’s effects on appetite have been conducted in animals. More human research is needed to understand how alcohol affects hunger. One animal study published in 2017 found that alcohol activates cells in your brain that signal intense hunger. After a few drinks, you may be more likely to make unhealthy food choices without thinking about it. A glass of wine is not a glass filled to the brim, but 5 oz (red wine glasses can hold oz when filled). But does drinking alcohol make you more likely to put on weight around your middle, how dangerous is it, and how can you shift it?
Alcohol affects digestion and nutrient uptake
In her 20-plus years of experience, she has written hundreds of health-focused articles about food, nutrition, fitness and wellness. Her work has appeared in EatingWell, Women’s Health, Weight Watchers, Men’s Health, Shape, Woman’s Day, Prevention, Fitbit and other publications and websites. “Across the board, for people who are trying to lose some weight, cutting out empty calories is a good place to start,” emphasizes Dr. Heinberg. For example, Simon says that alcohol can affect levels of reproductive hormones like testosterone and estrogen.
- According to a 2018 Gallup poll, beer is the preferred alcoholic beverage in the United States.
- If you’re trying to slim your waistline and count your calories, you should be aware that alcohol will contribute more calories than other macronutrients.
- That can lead to pancreatitis, which is inflammation of the pancreas.
Alcohol and weight gain
This study suggests that alcohol can actually trigger hunger signals in the brain, leading to an increased urge to eat more food. While alcohol doesn’t necessarily affect everyone the same way, it can cause some people to gain weight due to its high-calorie content and the way it affects metabolism, hunger-hormones, and decision making. If you want to enjoy a drink but limit your alcohol intake, try subbing in some of our favorite nonalcoholic drinks and spirits, several of which are low-calorie or low-sugar. Opt for low-calorie options like light beer, and skip mixed drinks with a lot of liqueur, juice, and syrup.
- “Consuming too many calories — whether from alcohol, sugary foods or just a lot of extra food — can lead to extra belly fat,” Dr. Allan says.
- She is the coauthor of the Plant-Based Nutrition Quick Start Guide and works with many of the leading organizations in nutrition and lifestyle medicine to develop nutrition content, recipes, and educational programs.
Jelly Roll’s weight loss of 120 pounds meant overcoming food addiction, walking and more
Several experimental studies have been conducted to examine the short-term effect of alcohol intake on feeding behavior and appetite control 3•, 5. In these studies, alcohol appears to have no effect on appetite, or to increase appetite 5. However, to date there have been few intervention studies conducted to experimentally examine the effects of regular alcohol intake on weight gain or obesity in humans. All of the available studies have examined moderate intake of alcohol, and the majority have reported results on beer and wine intake, but not other forms of alcohol 3•, 5. Crouse and Grundy 48 looked at the effect of adding 630 kcal/day of alcohol to the diets of 12 men in a metabolic unit. There were no significant changes in weight for normal weight participants over the four-week intervention study.
Even once you sober up, other physical effects of alcohol can stand in the way of a healthy diet and exercise regimen. While recent research on humans is limited, past studies have suggested that different hunger-related hormones, like ghrelin and leptin, might be affected by alcohol consumption. “If you’re trying to lose weight, what you really want to happen is you want fat burning to be turned on as much as possible,” Wyatt says.
Can men and women get a beer belly?
Also, Beulens et al. 51 reported similar results in 34 male adults with large WC, consuming 450 mL of red wine per day for 4 weeks, compared to consuming alcohol-free wine for the same time period. Biceps skin fold was the only anthropometric measurement that was increased in their participants after the beer drinking condition 52. In this case both diets were isoenergetic so this is not a surprising result, as the thermic effect of food was likely higher for white wine than grape juice 53, 54. Finally, more recently, Cresci et al. 55 found that self-reported alcohol intake was not a significant predictor of success or failure in losing 5% of body weight during a 6-month weight loss intervention. However, a clear cause-and-effect association between alcohol intake and weight gain is not apparent based on the mixed and conflicting available evidence on the topic. Given that both excessive alcohol intake and obesity are of public health concern, a better understanding of the association between alcohol consumption and excess body weight is warranted.
- In a study published in 2018, people who stopped drinking lost 1.6% more weight than those who did not change their alcohol intake.
- If you’ve ever been even a little hungover, you know how challenging it is to exercise the next day.
- And this will have a more significant impact on you gaining weight from alcohol rather than just the calories the alcohol contains.
Best nonalcoholic drinks and spirits
Previous research found that women reported feeling more full after drinking sparkling water, compared with flat. In reality, there’s no evidence that drinking beer (or your alcoholic beverages of choice) actually contributes to belly fat. Steatotic liver disease develops in about 90% of people who drink more than 1.5 to 2 ounces of alcohol per day. If you’d like to prevent weight gain and still enjoy drinking, try choosing lower-calorie alcoholic beverages and manage how much alcohol you consume.
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Several studies have grouped all levels of individual alcohol intake above 30g/day as ‘heavy’ drinkers 12, 38. Conversely, other studies examined alcohol intake more thoroughly, considering frequency and amount per drinking day separately 15. French et al. 15 measured alcohol frequency ranging from 1–2 times per year to every day, while estimating the number of drinks per drinking day from 1–36.
Your body does liqour make you fat will feel fuller and you’ll boost your metabolism by eating high protein foods. This is the trick to drinking alcohol and still losing weight (10). According to a 2014 study in the American Journal of Public Health, alcohol consumption is not only related to weight gain, but to obesity.