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It’s common to enjoy a glass of wine as you catch up with friends or unwind after a long day, but you may wonder whether drinking too much wine can cause you to gain weight. By cutting back on binge drinking, you could inadvertently lose weight to achieve a lower body mass index (BMI) without making any other changes to your lifestyle. A lack of sleep, or poor quality of sleep, increases your appetite and cravings for junk food rich in refined carbohydrates and decreases your energy expenditure on the following day. The average additional energy intake after a person has passed their tipping point is estimated to be 4,305 extra calories that same evening – more than twice the recommended daily calorie guideline for an adult woman. Plus, most alcoholic beverages have a lot of energy but little nutritional value, which is where the term ‘empty calories’ comes from. When people discuss alcohol’s effect on weight, they typically refer to the calories in alcohol as the leading cause of weight gain.
- It has also been suggested that some of the energy ingested as alcohol is ‘wasted’, due to the activation of the inefficient hepatic microsomal ethanol-oxidizing system (MEOS).
- She also notes that “a 12-ounce portion contributes to about 150 calories with 37 grams of sugar—and no protein or fiber.”
- The alcohol calories (like the cost of the cocktails) would be added to the total calories from the meal.
- Various factors, including what you drink, how often you drink, and how much alcohol you drink, can influence the effect of alcohol on your weight.
In contrast, light-to-moderate alcohol consumption does not cause weight gain. Beyond that, additional studies have linked drinking a fair share of sugary beverages with kidney disease, non-alcoholic liver disease, gout, and oral health issues, as well as obesity and weight gain, according to the CDC. Further, studies show that alcohol temporarily inhibits “lipid oxidation”— in other words, when alcohol is in your system, it’s harder for your body to burn fat that’s already there. Beyond adding energy to a meal, alcohol may actually stimulate food intake [5].
How alcohol could cause weight gain
Several studies suggest that consuming alcohol before or during a meal does not influence the amount of food eaten in that meal, despite increasing the energy density of the meal [5]. Thus, individuals do not appear to compensate for the added energy from alcohol in the short-term, and alcohol appears https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/can-you-gain-weight-because-of-alcohol/ to have little effect on satiety [5]. As with cross-sectional studies, the way by which alcohol intake is measured and categorized likely influences the interpretation of the results. Several studies have grouped all levels of individual alcohol intake above 30g/day as ‘heavy’ drinkers [12, 38].
One study in 49,324 women found that heavy drinkers consuming at least two drinks per day had increased odds of weight gain compared to non-drinkers (8). Frankly, there are a few drinking habits that might be resulting in consuming more calories and sugar than you realized. That’s why we’ve talked to three dietitians who filled us in on what you need to know about drinking habits leading to weight gain.
Does Drinking Alcohol Make You Gain Belly Fat
But calorie content is just the beginning of your alcohol-induced weight gain journey. Think again if you can circumvent this problem by drinking “skinny” margaritas or clear liquor with soda water. Some evidence suggests that sleep-deprived people eat more food and find it harder to resist tempting snacks than usual.
This can inflame the stomach lining, leading to irritation and bloating that can last a few days. Some alcoholic drinks, such as beer, can also cause boating due to gas. As a result of their findings, the researchers concluded that heavy drinking should be part of the discussion when it comes to talking about healthy eating and weight loss. A study has shown that alcohol may be a risk factor for obesity for some individuals, especially when consumed in large quantities.