Can one drink make you smaller? According to a study that appears in this week’s Archives of Internal Medicine, light to moderate amounts of alcohol may help you gain less weight. Sounds too good to be true, right?
Intuition tells me that drinking alcohol can lead to weight gain because you end up taking in more calories than you burn (as well as the fact that those calories are carbohydrates). However, in over 19,000 women (aged 39 and older) with a normal body mass index (i.e. 18.5 to 25), women who reported not drinking any alcohol had the most weight gain over approximately 13 years. What’s more, women who reported drinking about 40 grams of alcohol daily were less likely to become overweight or obese. Women drinking less than 30 grams a day had a 30% lower risk of becoming overweight or obese than women who did not drink at all. In this study, the link between alcohol intake and overweight or obesity was seen for red or white wine, beer or liquor. The strongest association was seen for red wine.
In a separate analysis, the researchers also observed an association between declines in the amount of weight, increases in alcohol intake and older age. Comparatively, the magnitude of the weight gain was smaller in older versus younger women!
Importantly, the results seen in the study remained even after researchers made adjustments for lifestyle, clinical and dietary factors such as physical activity, the presence of chronic disease and consumption of other beverages (e.g. coffee, soft drinks, tea).
Granted, 40 grams is about 1.4 ounces or about half of a normal 5 ounce glass of wine. That may not meet the craving for a glass of wine. However, perhaps the larger take-away message is that a little wine can go a long way towards staving off weight gain. My RD friends might disagree but it’s an interesting ponder.
What do you think? Can one drink (or a half a drink) make you smaller?
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I think there is a lot of work that needs to be done to see whether it’s the alcohol keeping the weight off or other factors such as less snacking, more smoking, etc. But makes me feel better about being a moderate drinker myself – everything in moderation I suppose.
The researchers adjusted for what they call “confounders,” like age and smoking and other lifestyle and dietary habits. However, what I find most interesting about this study (and news reports) is the definition of moderation – about a half glass of wine. Who drinks that little when they have a glass?
Interesting post, as always, Liz! You might be interested in my take on it here (http://bit.ly/ccEgMF), where I discuss how confounding by indication may be driving the found association. As much as I want to believe the association, I am not sure it is real.
Marya – I read your post. It’s so interesting how much the media inflates these findings. My main interest here was highlighting the possibility and then pointing out how little the women in the study were actually drinking.
We can only hope. But I’d tend to question it, since alcohol also makes you eat more due to reducing your inhibitions…
Your RD friend agrees with you! I think the benefits of drinking wine are real, it’s just that as with most things we love, we consume too much.
I remember as a child spending summers with my grandparents in Brooklyn, my Italian immigrant grandfather used to drink red wine every night with dinner. Funny thing, thinking back now, he would have just about 3 oz. I clearly remember the “kid size” glass that he drank from (nothing like the much larger glasses we use today).
When it comes to diet and behavior, it’s about creating healthy habits. Getting in the habit of drinking less wine is not that hard. In fact, as with most indulgences, you will probably look back and wonder how you could have drank more.
Just my 2 cents.
Danielle