Does alcohol consumption cause weight gain? Excessive alcohol consumption is associated with many health risks. These perils include accidental injuries, addiction, alcohol poisoning, cancer, cognitive problems, liver damage, and more. Non-problem drinking also has hazards, but does it cause weight gain?
The National Institutes of Health describes the scope of alcohol consumption in the United States: Over 85 percent of adults have consumed alcohol in their lifetime. Just under 70 percent report consuming alcohol during the past year, and 55 percent had alcohol within the last month.
Moreover, one-quarter of adults report binge drinking within the past month. Six percent are “heavy drinkers,” with high-intensity drinking referring to those who “consume alcohol amounts at least twice the binge drinking thresholds for males and females, respectively.”
Is alcohol consumption a significant contributor to weight gain and obesity? Let’s look at the science.
The Foundation for Alcohol Research & Education published a systematic review that demonstrated no conclusive link between alcohol intake and weight gain. The available studies hint at a link between beer drinking and fat accumulation at the abdomen level (and not more generally).
In a separate study published in Obesity in 2017, researchers looked at the effects of alcohol by type (beer versus liquor versus wine) on long-term weight in American men. After adjusting for age, lifestyle, diet, and cardiovascular risk factors, the study authors concluded:
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