An intriguing new study from the Archives of Internal Medicine found that regular consumption of light to moderate amounts of alcohol decreased a woman’s likelihood to pack on the pounds or become overweight  compared to non-alcohol drinkers over  a time span of 13 years. And YES, this was found true even after adjusting for potential confounders like baseline body mass index, smoking, other calorie sources, exercise, and lifestyle and dietary factors.

The 411

Parker-Pope from the New York Time’s Well blog fabulously summed up the results … Read on … they’re uber interesting …

“The findings … are based on a study of 19,220 United States women aged 39 or older who, at the start of the study, fell into the “normal weight” category based on their body mass index. Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston tracked the women’s drinking habits over 13 years. About 60 percent of the women were light or regular drinkers, while about 40 percent reported drinking no alcohol.

Over the course of the study, 41 percent of the women became overweight or obese. Although alcohol is packed with calories (about 150 in a six-ounce glass of wine), the nondrinkers in the study actually gained more weight over time: nine pounds, on average, compared with an average gain of about three pounds among regular moderate drinkers. The risk of becoming overweight was almost 30 percent lower for women who consumed one or two alcohol beverages a day, compared with nondrinkers.”

Other Interesting Notes

Other studies have shown this same phenomenon and some have disagreed. Regardless, what has been pretty consistent in studies looking at alcohol intake and weight gain is its effect on men. Again, sorry boys, but data shows this one just isn’t in your favor. Simply because men tend to drink on top of their regular “fooding” schedule; whereas, women will compensate, giving up something else in exchange for the booze (i.e. man will have burger + shake + fries + beers; woman will have burger + salad + wine). What further tilts the favor in a  woman’s  glass is the effect alcohol may have on her metabolism.  In metabolic studies, alcohol has shown to increase a woman’s metabolism, but do little, if anything, to rev a man’s metabolic engine.

Bottom Line

Hitting up your neighborhood pub or becoming known as “Ms. Happy Hour” will not help your healthifying ways or your waistline. Especially, if that happy hour turns into a “Happy Day” and ONE drink suddenly turns into drinks + buffalo chicken wings + something fried … heck—you really can’t tell what it is (but that’s A-okay because you got it on the house for being such a loyal local pub supporter and “Papa Joe” just can’t get enough of your smiling face ) Only kidding!

Basically, don’t ransack your local liquor store to help lose weight because other studies have shown that alcohol makes it harder for overweight women to lose weight. Plus, alcohol may increase risk of breast cancer, cause trouble sleeping, and can negatively affect weight loss. So, if you ask me, and you don’t drink, there’s NO NEED to start. The study’s main finding is that if women are having weight problems and are only drinking in moderation, there must be something in their life to healthify to help nix the problemo in the bud. And, just so we’re on the same page here one drink is equal to:

• 12-ounces of beer
• 8-ounces of malt liquor
• 5-ounces of wine
• 1.5-ounces or a “shot” of 80-proof distilled spirits or liquor (e.g., gin, rum, vodka, or whiskey)

Happy Healthifying!

What are your thoughts on this provocative study?!?

“Alcohol Consumption, Weight Gain, and Risk of Becoming Overweight in Middle-aged and Older Women.”
Lu Wang; I-Min Lee; JoAnn E. Manson; Julie E. Buring; Howard D. Sesso.
Arch Intern Med., Vol. 170 No. 5, pp 453-461, March 8, 2010.

A Lil’ Initiative Briefing

Q: The goal of the initiative?

A: To end the childhood obesity epidemic within the next generation.

Q: Why is this important?

A: Well—because for the first time in history, our children could live shorter lives than their parents. Today, nearly 1 in 3 children and teens in the U.S. is overweight or obese.  And if current trends continue, 1/3 of all individuals born in the year 2000 or later will at some point suffer from diabetes. This along with heart disease, high blood pressure, and cancer are also linked to obesity—whether a child or adult. This initiative will hopefully help zap our nation’s health woes and zip the $147 billion spent annually on diseases like diabetes, high cholesterol and blood pressure, cancer, and asthma.

Q: How is First Lady Obama involved?

A: Through creating public awareness on the healthifying initiative with her Let’s Move campaign—where everyone from parents and celebrities to medical and government leaders are involved. Goals of the nationwide campaign/initiative are to: 1) ensure access to healthy, affordable foods; 2) increase physical activity (aka movement!!!); 3) provide healthier food in schools; 4) empower parents to make good choices for themselves and their families.

NOW–get In The Know! Watch the video introducing you to Let’s Move … that is if you haven’t already met.

Granted, the goal to solve the problem of obesity in the next generation is lofty, but if we ALL, literally, get movin’ and eating more healthfully—we’re heading in the right direction.

Happy Healthifying!

What do you think of Let’s Move?