Women who drink moderately ‘gain less weight than non-drinkers’

A study has found that women who drink a moderate amount of alcohol appear to gain less weight than non-drinkers.

Despite the fact that alcohol contains about seven calories per gram and alcohol drinking may possibly lead to weight gain through an imbalance of energy consumed and energy burned, the research published in the Archives of Internal Medicine has not established a link between alcohol consumption and gaining weight.

Lu Wang, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, and colleagues studied 19,220 women in the US aged 39 or older who had a body mass index (BMI) in the range classified as normal (18.5 to 25).

“An inverse association between alcohol intake and risk of becoming overweight or obese was noted for all four types of alcoholic beverages [red wine, white wine, beer and liquor],” the authors said.

However, they cautioned that given potential medical and psychosocial problems related to drinking alcohol, its beneficial and adverse effects for each individual must be considered before making any recommendation about its use.