Women who consume alcohol weigh 3-6 lbs less than those who do not drink

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Thursday, April 22, 2010 6:56 am Email this article
Women who consume alcohol weighed 3-6 pounds less than those who do not drink according to a 1998 study from France.

Non-drinking women weighed 150 pounds compared to 147 pounds for light drinkers and 144 pounds moderate-to-heavy drinkers.

The Body Mass Index (BMI) of these three groups was 26.6, 25.7, 25.3, respectively. Wine, Beer and Liquor

70% wine, 20% beer, 10% liquor

Alcohol intake in this study consisted of roughly 70 percent wine, 20 percent beer and 10 percent liquor.

Total alcohol consumption was associated with waist-to-hip ratio in both men and women.

 

Other studies

Other studies show similar results

This is in agreement with studies involving Americans, European men and Italian women.

 

Alcohol Intake

Alcohol Intake: 0-39 oz per week for women, 0-56 oz per week for men

Alcohol intake ranged from 0 to 39 ounces per week for women, and 0 to 56 ounces for women.

The median intake was 7 ounces per week for men and one ounce per week for women.

Light drinkers were defined as those drinking less than the median amount, while those drinking at least the median amount were defined as moderate-to-heavy drinkers.

 

Subjects

Subjects: 3,508 people from France

The study involved a total of 3,508 people from three centers in northern, eastern and southern France.

A common belief supported by previous population studies is that while beer promotes belly fat, wine has no effect or even protects against it.

The problems with these studies were that they were conducted in the U.S. and Finland where beer is the major source of alcohol and wine consumption is more prevalent in educated people.

REFERENCE

Dallongeville J, Marecaux N, Ducimetiere P, Ferrie¡res J, Arveiler D, Bingham A, Ruidavets JB, Simon C, Amouyel P. Influence of alcohol consumption and various beverages on waist girth and waist-to-hip ratio in a sample of French men and women. International Journal of Obesity, 1998 Dec;22(12):1178-83.

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