According some work done by researchers, the beer belly—or at least the idea that beer and wine specifically show up as pounds over the gut—may be a myth:
There were few heavy drinkers. Just 3% of men drank more than 14 litres of beer in a week and just five women regularly consumed more than 7 litres in a week.All of those questioned also underwent a short medical examination.
Doctors measured their weight and their waist to hip ratio and body mass index, both used to measure obesity.
The scientists found no link between beer consumption and obesity.
They said the findings suggested there is no truth in the claim that drinking too much beer makes people obese.
Of course that doesn’t mean I still don’t have one, but it’s good to know that beer and wine aren’t some sort of magical calories that are more prone to sticking around than any others.
Where then does the popular “beer-belly” come from? As long as you are able to absorb sugar, it will go wherever it is needed in the body. The real reason for the “beer belly” is that people who develop them are taking in way more carbohydrates and calories than their current metabolic needs, whether drinking beer or not. After knocking off a pizza or a couple of meatball sandwiches—then sitting on the couch the entire weekend—why call that roll around your middle a “beer belly”? Why not call it what it really is—a carbohydrate- or calorie-overload belly?
There’s also ongoing research that indicates the fat that accumulates around the mid-body region might also be because of a predisposed genetic trait, in the same way that some people have wider hips or a larger butt.
Of course, knowing the nutritional values of popular beers would help. Click on my link for more info on this.
I like where this research is going. Beer has been getting a bad rap in the belly department for years.
How do those Czechs drink so much? 14 litres is almost 40 12oz beers.
I agree with Bob, knowing the nutritional values (or lack thereof) of different drinks would help a lot in dispelling “beer belly” myths. Plus we could more accurately moderate our intake when one is watching their weight.
A lot of the hardcore beer drinkers I know are skinny as hell.
In the UK Men’s Health from a few months ago, they mentioned a study that more or less proved it wasn’t the alcohol or sugars in alcohol that makes people fat, it is more the social aspect of eating when drinking. Alcohol makes you less likely to feel full, and more likely to eat junk food.
Eating food and particularly fatty snacks while drinking is popular in most European countries (and the US), but people in some places, like some Eastern European countries, don’t normally eat at all when drinking - and the drinkers there generally stay thin. I can’t find the article unfortunately, but if it was in MH it was probably all over the science news sites like New Scientist.
Maybe that’s why the hardcore beer drinkers stay thin! no time to eat!