Alcohol and weight gain

When you think of beer, you probably picture a round belly, and when it comes to spirits, you might think of sugar.

 

As well as potentially causing a hangover, alcoholic drinks are high-energy drinks that can expose you to metabolic disturbances (weight gain, diabetes) and have harmful consequences for your health.

 

 

So, we've all heard it before, but does alcohol really make you put on weight? Let's take a closer look together!

 

 

 

Why does alcohol make you gain weight?

 

 

Alcohol provides a large amount of empty calories that your body doesn't need. 

 

Indeed, beyond its harmful effects on health, alcohol has an impact on weight gain. Even though the amount of sugar varies from one drink to another, all wines and spirits provide at least 100 calories per glass. Here are a few examples:

 

 

• 1 glass of wine is about 100 kilocalories.

 

• 1 pint of beer is about 140 kilocalories.

 

• 1 glass of whisky is about 380 kilocalories.

 

What's more, alcohol dehydrates you and causes water retention.

 

 

On top of that, drinking alcohol promotes the build-up of fat, particularly around the abdomen. This is because the body focuses on burning off the calories from the alcohol and can no longer burn fat, which then gets stored by the body.

 

 

We've all been to after-work drinks or a slightly long family meal that usually kicks off with an aperitif.

 

Calorie-wise, this is the most critical moment, mainly because of the sugars in the alcohol and the aperitif snacks loaded with saturated fat. 

 

 

 

What's more, drinking alcohol whets the appetite. Despite the calories in the drink itself, we tend to wolf down large amounts of crisps and savoury snacks of all kinds.

 

 

 

Alcohol brings nothing to the body

 

The ethanol in a glass of wine or beer packs a lot of calories: 

 

7 kcal per gram of pure alcohol, almost twice as much as sugar (4 kcal/g) and a little less than fat (9 kcal/g). Drinking a glass of wine (10 cl, i.e. 10 to 12 g of ethanol) is the calorie equivalent of eating three sugar cubes. So by cutting out alcohol, you reduce your energy intake by 10 to 30% depending on your eating habits.

 

Giving it up does you no harm at all, because alcohol is a typical "empty" nutrient that brings nothing useful to the body other than the hedonistic pleasure it can provide. 

 

 

In fact, our body is quick to eliminate it, transforming it through a series of chemical reactions that take place mainly in the liver.

 

In the end, this transformation produces, among other things, substances that feed the production of fatty acids, while at the same time fat burning slows down. So alcohol promotes the formation of fat deposits twice over. The main organs affected: the fatty tissue of the abdomen and the liver itself.

 

 

 

Limiting your alcohol intake helps you keep better control of what you eat.

 

 

Many studies show that alcohol stimulates the appetite, even though its calorie content should curb it. And for good reason: psychological conditioning plays a big part. Opening a bottle for an aperitif reawakens the urge to eat. But that's not all: alcohol also acts physiologically.

By acting on the hypothalamus, a gland located at the base of the brain, alcohol disrupts the production of the hormones involved in regulating appetite. 

 

Finally, alcohol clouds our judgement. Under its influence, our inhibitions and our dietary bearings collapse, making way for the pleasures of indulgent dishes that are too sweet or too fatty.

 

 

Conclusion: moderation!

 

Studies on students make it clear: the problem is what you end up eating on top. Both the snacking and those Sunday meals that drag on.

 

One or two glasses a day won't make you put on weight.

 

If you drink a lot and are struggling to lose weight, you could try cutting down and then going without for a week to see what happens. You never know…

For everyone else, cheers!

Alcohol abuse is dangerous for your health. Always drink in moderation.