June Russell's Health Facts

Abdominal fat, a contributor to heart disease risk, is related to alcohol drinking patterns, says a study published in the August 2003 issue of the Journal of Nutrition. The type of alcohol consumed appeared to contribute differently to the accumulation of abdominal fat, and findings showed wine drinkers had the lowest abdominal height (the amount that the abdomen extends above the torso when a person lies on his or her back, a measurement which correlates highly with abdominal fat stores). Beer wasn’t associated with central abdominal fat, though liquor drinkers had the highest score. Within all categories of drinking frequency, the number of drinks mattered — the more drinks per drinking day, the higher the abdominal measurement.

It was noted by Joan Dorn, PhD, the lead author of the study, that “these results do not suggest that persons with abdominal fat should start drinking.”
{www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases, Oct. 2003}

Only wine was significantly inversely associated with abdominal height. Beer and liquor were unrelated to abdominal height in men (however, those women who were current alcohol drinkers who did not consume liquor tended to have the smallest abdominal heights).

Among drinkers, the inverse association was strongest for drinkers of wine, and overall, for alcohol. Beer drinking was unrelated, and liquor drinking was associated with a tendency for greater central adiposity. The association between alcohol and body fat distribution has been explored by others, with somewhat inconsistent results. For example, there was a positive association with wine drinking in men (and adiposity), and significantly so in Caucasian men, whereas for women, the association was inverse, and significant only among African-Americans, despite the fact that Caucasian women were the highest consumers of wine.

Limitations of the study: It is possible that some individuals who previously drank alcohol, but no longer do so, may have changed their drinking habits, i.e., stopped drinking for health-related reasons, which could include undesirable body weight, or even weight gain around the waist. This “sick-quitter” phenomenon could have biased results in favor of current drinkers. Among men, current drinkers and lifetime abstainers did not differ in fat distribution. The self-reported recall of alcohol consumption may be limited, and it is also possible that there were other confounding variables.
{McCann and colleagues reporting that wine drinkers had healthier lifestyles}

--- Other studies show inconsistent results ---

• Slattery and colleagues demonstrated a positive association between total amount of alcohol consumed and the waist-hip circumference ratio in young African-American and Caucasian men, but not in women of either race in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in the Young Adults Study.
• Positive associations between alcohol intake and central adiposity have been reported in middle-aged Japanese men; 35 to 64 year-old men and women in France; 31 to 90 year-old women from the Kaiser-Permanente Women Twins Study in the United States; and in 50 to 79 year-old men and women in Rancho Bernardo, CA.
• In a Swedish study conducted in women, liquor was associated with the waist-hip circumference ratio, but no association was found between consumption of beer and wine.
• In contrast, Kaye and his colleagues reported an inverse association between alcohol consumption and waist-to-hip ratio in postmenopausal women, and no consistent relation between alcohol and central adiposity was observed in Mexican American or non-Hispanic Caucasian men and women who were part of the San Antonio Heart Study.
  {nutrition.org, copy of abstract from the State University of New York, Oct. 2003}

--- Studies that shed light on alcohol use and fat --

1. A study in the Sep./Oct. 2000 issue of Psychosomatic Medicine looked at pre-menopausal, non-overweight women, and overweight women who stored fat either centrally, at the waist, or peripherally, at the hips; and examined their stress responses over three consecutive days. Abdominal fat is related to worse health, including greater risk of heart disease and diabetes. Cortisol affects fat distribution by causing fat to be stored centrally, around the organs. Everyone is exposed to stress, but some people may secrete more cortisol than others. Cortisol exposure can increase visceral fat, the fat surrounding the organs in animals. People with diseases associated with extreme exposure to cortisol, such as severe recurrent depression and Cushing’s disease also have excessive amounts of visceral fat. Lifestyle and age may also influence levels of abdominal fat. Smoking, alcohol and lack of exercise all contribute to greater abdominal fat.
   {sciencedaily.com/releases, news release from Yale University, Elissa S. Epel, PhD, lead investigator}



2. As a cellular toxin, ethanol is catabolic and promotes structural tissue loss. The catabolic effect causes a greater loss of weight than caloric input can replace in the form of fat stores. Typically, fat distribution shifts to the belly and trunk, leaving the extremities skinny and weak. Men often grow female breasts, as estrogen accumulates in their system. There are a host of body responses to ethanol ingestion, as it acts in its drug/chemical pathogenic role.
   {“Ethanol & Alcohol Abuse,” nutramed.com, April 2003}



3. “A liver overloaded with pollutants and toxins cannot efficiently burn body fat,” says Ann Louise Gittleman, PhD, CNS. She says that there is probably nothing you can do to control your weight that is as important as keeping your liver healthy, which means avoiding as many damaging substances (like alcohol) as possible, while embracing liver boosters such as milk thistle.
   {“Are Toxins Fattening?” Taste for Life magazine, April 2003}



4. The amount of food consumed when you eat your meal with wine or beer increases, and is higher than with a soft drink. Wine increases consumption even more than beer. Beer and wine accelerate gastric emptying.
   {International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders, 2002;26(10):1367-72}.
   {Nutrition Hints, # 1211, Betty Kamen and Michael Rosenbaum, MD, June 2003}
   

Related Links

• Alcohol - Weight