Moderate drinking may lower obesity risk

Moderation in drinking seems to correlate with moderation in waistlines, researchers here reported.

A drink a day, more or less, was associated with a lower risk of becoming overweight or obese in a Mayo Clinic study. But &to=http://english.pravda.ru/fun/2002/02/20/26539.html' target=_blank>drinking was not advocated as a weight-maintenance strategy.

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Analysis of a cross-sectional survey of more than 8,000 individuals revealed that those who consumed five drinks per week were 38% less likely to be obese, compared with non-drinkers (95% confidence interval=0.46-0.82), according to James E. Rohrer, Ph.D., and colleagues.

However, heavy drinking (four or more drinks per day) was associated with increased risk of overweight and &to=http://english.pravda.ru/main/18/90/360/16056_fat.html' target=_blank>obesity compared with non-drinkers, according to the study, published in the Dec. 5 issue of BMC Public Health.

The study explored the association between overweight or obesity and alcohol consumption among 8,236 non-smoking participants of the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics between 1988 and 1994. Body mass index and drinking history were the chief data considered, reports Medpage Today.

The physiological mechanism linking &to=http://english.pravda.ru/science/19/94/377/14974_alcohol.html' target=_blank>alcohol and body mass is not fully understood. In theory it reduces the oxidation of fat and favors fat storage, which should result in weight gain. In this study, the researchers compared body mass index (BMI) data from 8,236 non-smokers who participated in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. They found that people who report drinking one or two drinks per day had just less than half the odds of obesity compared to nondrinkers. However, people who report drinking at least four alcoholic drinks were 46 percent more likely to be obese than the nondrinkers were. Alcohol is big business in the United States. Half of all Americans over the age of 11 years old consumed at least one alcoholic beverage in the last month. On average, alcohol contributes around 10 percent of the total daily energy intake of an American adult, informs Red Herring. O.Ch.

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