Alcohol consumption associated with weight regain in women

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Friday, July 02, 2010 7:43 am Email this article
Women who consume 60 grams of alcohol per week-- the amount found in about six beers or six glasses of wine--are 2.4 times more likely to regain lost weight according to a recent study. A standard drink contains about 10 grams of alcohol

Sixty grams of alcohol is the amount found in about six standard drinks—six beers, six glasses of wine, six shots of liquor—according to the Australian Road Safety Council.

Subjects: 218 obese women

The study included 218 obese women who on average were 38-years-old and had a body mass index (BMI) of 41, or a BMI range from 30 to 76.

Average follow-up 2.3 years

The average time of follow-up was 2 years and 4 months.

Subjects: 218 obese women

Everyone instructed to eat a reduced calorie diet and increase their physical activity.

61% used diet drugs

Diet drugs were used in 61 percent of the women for short periods of time.

Comment

This does not necessarily mean that the alcohol was the cause of the weight gain. It could be that the alcohol simply reduced inhibition to eating.

One study found that alcohol increases calorie intake.

Another study found that high-fat diets and alcohol increase consumption.

However, other studies have found that women who consume wine are thinner than women who do not, in fact, some studies have found that the more wine women consume, the thinner they tend to be, although there is controversy about this.

REFERENCE

Andrade B, Mendes C, Araujo L. [Weight cycling during treatment of obese women.]. Arq Bras Endocrinol Metabol. 2004 Apr, 48(2):276-81.

AUTHOR’S CONTACT INFORMATION

Hospital Universitario Professor Edgard Santos
Escola de Nutricao
Universidade Federal da Bahia

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