Moderate drinking may curb pounds on women
Reported March 09, 2010
LOS ANGELES – Women who drink moderate amounts of alcohol dont gain as much weight in midlife as those who abstain, according to a study released Monday. However, the authors as well as alcohol abuse experts were quick to say that drinking should not be heralded as a new diet nor a path to better health.
The study, by researchers at Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston to be published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, is the first to find alcohol may curb weight gain in women. Previous studies suggested moderate drinking had no effect on womens weight and contributed to weight gain in men. Typically, alcohol is not advised for people trying to lose weight. A five-ounce glass of wine has 125 calories while a 12-ounce regular beer has
150 calories.
Researchers examined data from 19,220 women enrolled in the long-running Womens Health Study. The women, all ages 39 and older at the start of the study and originally of normal weight, provided information about alcohol intake and other health and lifestyle factors over an average of 13 years.
Compared with women who abstained entirely, women who drank the equivalent of a drink or two were 30 percent less likely to be overweight at the end of the study period. Women who consumed roughly one-half to one drink were 14 percent less likely.
Source : Associated Press
