Nutrition

December 4, 2010

Does Alcohol Make You Fat?

Nutritionists generally promote the belief that alcohol is detrimental to maintaining low body fat levels. “Lipogenic” (fat promoting) is a term often used. This is what I was taught in my nutritional coursework at both the undergraduate and at the graduate level, and what continues to be perpetuated in the texts I use as a nutritional professor. A closer look at the research, however, shows that it’s not quite as simple as you may think.

Studies consistently show that alcohol intake blunts fat burning (1, 2, 3). This clearly suggests that drinking is taboo for anyone who aspires to get lean, right? On the other hand, those who consume a moderate amount of alcohol don’t seem to be any heavier than those who are teetotalers. What gives?

In an editorial appearing in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition some years ago, Eric Jequier wrote about this apparent paradox. Jequier concluded his paper by stating: “How can we resolve the above-mentioned paradox? Is it really true that alcohol intake is associated with increased energy intake in daily life? Have we sufficiently taken into account the influence of confounding factors such as underreporting of energy intake in obese subjects and the frequent association between smoking and alcohol intake? Clearly, the complex relation between alcohol intake and body weight regulation needs to be studied further by using a combined approach of epidemiology, psychophysiology, and metabolic investigations.” Amen!

Based on my early studies, I was a staunch advocate for strictly limiting alcohol intake in those who wanted to reduce body fat. It seemed consistent with the research. More recently, however, an extensive review of the literature as well as ongoing anecdotal evidence has caused me to temper my stance. Here’s the bottom line: Unless you are physique athlete in the last few weeks before a competition, the net effect of moderate consumption (1 to 2 drinks a day) on body composition will be negligible. What’s more, emerging evidence shows potential health benefits, particularly for the cardiovascular system, associated with moderate intake. All things considered, the risk/reward is actually pretty good.

So here’s my take: a drink or two a day is generally fine (and perhaps beneficial from a health perspective) for the majority of people provided overall caloric balance is not increased. But the last part of the sentence is key here. Consider the caloric content in some popular alcoholic beverages: a margarita has 600 calories, a martini 250, and a beer 150. The calories can really add up quickly. What’s more, consumption of alcohol has been shown to increase appetite (4), and tends to supplement rather than displace calories (5). Ultimately, if you take in more calories than you expend, you will gain weight. And binge drinking clearly has a detrimental effect on body composition–if you pound down a slew of drinks, you will seriously impair fat loss.

Martin Berkhan did a nice job simplifying the research on the topic in a recent blog post. If you’re interested in the science, I’d encourage you to give it a read.

Stay Fit!

Brad

1) Suter PM, Schutz Y, Jéquier E. The effect of ethanol on fat storage in healthy subjects. N Engl J Med 1992;326:983–7
2) Murgatroyd PR, Van de Ven MLHM, Goldberg GR, Prentice AM. Alcohol and the regulation of energy balance: overnight effects on diet-induced thermogenesis and fuel storage. Br J Nutr 1996;75:33–45.
3) Sonko BJ, Prentice AM, Murgatroyd PR, Goldberg GR, van de Ven ML, Coward WA. Effect of alcohol on postmeal fat storage. Am J Clin Nutr 1994;59:619–25.
4) Westerterp-Plantenga MS, Verwegen CRT. The appetizing effect of an aperitif in overweight and normal-weight humans. Am J Clin Nutr 1999;69:205–12.
5) De Castro JM, et al. Moderate alcohol intake and spontaneous eating patterns of humans: evidence of unregulated supplementation. Am J Clin Nutr. 1990 Aug;52(2):246-53.