Drink booze to lose weight?

What?

"The findings, reported this week in the Archives of Internal Medicine, 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."

Taken from New York Times

This is so confusing for women. There's been lots of talk about how alcohol increases the risk of breast cancer.

I was talking to one of my clients, a professor of nutrition and a leading expert on many things other than exercise, and she suggested what might not be controlled for in the study was whether or not the non-drinkers consumed more sugary pop or drinks.

I don't know what I think about this study exactly but I do know that I've consistently seen weight loss results in helping people cut back on booze (even expensive wine!). It's one of the easiest areas to cut empty calories. And when you're trying to lose weight by creating a calorie deficit you want to hang onto the nutrient dense calories and lose the empty ones.

However, I'm not trying to lose weight and I have no trouble with just one glass of wine so I'm on my way to get a bottle of vino to eat with my Victoria's Kitchen Chicken Curry.

God forbid people take that study too seriously and START drinking. That would suck.

Jane