Alcohol isn’t a fat trap after all

Years ago, I remember a women’s magazine editor I knew fretting about the single glass of wine she’d had the night before; she was convinced that alcohol was the only thing keeping her from losing the “last five”. (For the record, she was extremely thin and had no reason to worry about her weight).

Personally, I’ve never been convinced that alcohol is the fat trap it’s purported to be. That’s why I was pleased to hear that a new study from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston found that not only will having a drink once in a while not pile on pounds, women who drink moderately actually tend to be thinner than their teetotaling peers.

Researchers studied almost 20,000 women over the age of 38 for 13 years and discovered that while those who consumed the most alcohol (two or more drinks daily) tended to also consume the most calories, they were 30% less likely to be overweight and 70% less likely to be obese than abstainers.

The study authors say it’s unclear why there’s such a strong association between alcohol and weight maintenance. It could be that alcohol curbs appetite, or that imbibers just swap food for alcohol (both theories are very plausible, given that the study revealed that drinkers tended to consume about 177 fewer calories from food than non-drinkers did). It’s even possible, say researchers, that alcohol causes women’s body to burn more calories than it would otherwise. Most likely, it’s a combination of several factors.

The study authors are quick to point out that alcohol is not a weight loss tool; don’t start downing merlot just to try to shed pounds. But if you’re, say, a wine lover as I am, this is happy news indeed that you can have a drink without worrying that you’re expanding your waistline in the process.

Obviously, moderation is key: alcohol still contains calories, and they add up quick if you’re downing several pints or G&Ts a night. Plus, the tipsier you get, the easier it is to lose your inhibitions and empty the cookie jar. And then there’s the unfortunate fact that even one drink a day increases your risk of breast cancer–something that all women, even those without a family history of the disease, should keep in mind.

–Camille