Obesity risk lower in women who had 2 or more drinks a day, study finds

Published: Tuesday, Mar. 9, 2010 - 12:00 am | Page 1B

Ladies – it might be time to stop worrying that the Wednesday night glass of wine is just empty calories.

A new study tracking 20,000 American women through middle age found those who had two or more drinks a day gained less weight than their non-drinking counterparts.

The study is published in the March 8 issue ofArchives of Internal Medicine.

Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospitalin Boston asked normal-weight women 39 years and older to report their weight and drinking habits. Normal weight for women is defined as abody mass index between 18.5 and 25.

Through the nearly 13 years of follow-up, the women steadily gained weight.

However, women who drank more than 30 grams of alcohol a day – about 2 normal-sized drinks – gained the least weight. They gained on average 3.4 pounds, with the amount of weight gained increasing with decreased alcohol consumption. The non-drinkers gained an average of 8 pounds.

When looking at the risk of becoming obese, any woman who imbibed 15 or more grams of alcohol a day – or 1 or more drinks – would be at lowest risk.

Not all alcohol is equally kind to the waistline. While drinking any kind of alcohol decreased the risk of becoming obese, red wine drinkers were least likely to become obese. Beer and liquor came in second, with white wine having the weakest correlation with declining obesity risk.

The findings oppose the conventional wisdom that alcohol is misspent calories.

"I'm really puzzled by the findings," said UC Davis nutrition professor Judith Stern. "I would think that when people drink something at a cocktail party, their inhibitions are lowered and they get the munchies and eat more."

The study's authors think it's because women might forgo dessert if they have the extra glass of chardonnay.

Additionally, "other studies have shown alcohol consumption in women can induce increasedenergy expenditure," said author Lu Wang, an epidemiologist with the division of preventive medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital.

It's not likely men exhibit the same self-control. Wang cited past studies showing men who drank tended to put on pounds.

Physique aside, research on alcohol and its health implications is mixed.

Experts agree that moderate drinking may reduce the risk of heart disease and strokes, saidValentina Medici, a gastroenterologist at UC Davis Medical Center.

But she said heavy drinking damages the liver and increases risks of certain cancers.

Furthermore, it's more dangerous for a woman to drink heavily.

"High amounts of alcohol are more toxic for women than men," she said. "Women can get sicker and their liver can be more affected at a younger age."

Call The Bee's Anna Tong, (916) 321-1045.