Alcohol and Weight Gain

It has been a long standing belief that alcohol and weight gain go hand in hand. There have been numerous researches and studies to back up this claim, but off late, people's opinions about the whole issue of alcohol and weight gain seem to be swaying in a different direction. There is no doubt that the amount of calories contained in alcoholic drinks is high, and excessive consumption of these drinks can lead to unnatural patterns of weight gain. But there is another school of thought which believes that alcohol weight gain have absolutely no correlation.

Over the years, this debate has attracted mixed opinions from all branches. People who drink alcohol in moderation claim that the consumption does not affect their weight, on the contrary, they continue, it boosts their metabolism and thus, plays a part in actually losing weight instead. Some medical corners scoff at these claims and point out the number of calories present in alcohol as simple proof that alcohol weight gain is a real phenomenon. Beer is one beverage that contains a very large amount of calories and there can be absolutely no doubt concerning its effects on weight gain.

Role of Alcohol in Weight Gain
People who firmly believe that alcoholism has an effect on weight gain regularly point out three main arguments to validate their claims. To a certain extent, these claims hold true and if you have been drinking alcohol then you will relate to the following arguments:

1. Firstly, the calories. There can be no ambivalence about the amount of calories present in alcohol. The problem of alcohol weight gain originates solely from the high amount of calories present in alcohol. No matter what anyone says, this large amount will always prove, to an extent, that consumption of alcohol leads to weight gain.
2. You may have commonly observed that after drinking alcohol one feels unnaturally hungry. This makes a person to eat unhealthy and bad foods which can ultimately result in gaining weight. Bouts of drinking are regularly followed by eating large portions of fatty food which adds to a person's waistline.
3. Lastly, alcohol induces an effect of laziness and sloth which reaches its peak the next morning. Very few people will follow a night of wild drinking with a day of activity and exercise. They will also sleep more the next day, and all these factors together culminate in a direct relation between consuming alcohol and weight gain.

The second factor here, the one of eating more after drinking, is claimed to stem from the fact that alcohol actually improves a person's metabolism. This causes someone to feel more hungry, and if this method is used properly, it can actually help a person burn calories and make weight loss easier.

This leads us to wonder if it is actually better to consume alcohol. If you can stick to a regime of moderation, then yes. A couple of drinks every other day is actually good for you, but the downside is that most people do not stop at a drink or two. And sometimes this even becomes a daily habit. Alcohol weight gain will be noticeably increased if a person is consuming large amounts of alcohol on a regular basis. You should know that only about 5% of the alcohol calories that you consume are stored in the body as fat, and the remaining alcohol content is converted into acetate. If the acetate levels in the body are high, it replaces fat as the fuel for the body. Thus, excessive alcohol in the body does indeed lead to a greater degree of storage of fat. The relation of alcohol and weight gain in women and men is easy to see in such cases. This is why alcohol abuse must be avoided at all costs.

The key here is to remember that moderation is the answer. The causes and effects of alcohol weight gain is a subject that is still being explored and studied. Nothing is for certain as yet, but to avoid excessive alcohol and bloating symptoms, you must refrain from consuming too much alcohol, as doing so would surely lead you to gain more weight.