Guzzling light to moderate alcohol, particularly red wine, is not just good for the heart but also for a woman’s waistline, according to a recently conducted study.
The analysis, conducted by the division of preventive medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston points at middle-aged and older women who have normal body weight initially and consume light-to-moderate alcohol could maintain drinking habits without gaining more weight as compared with similar women who did not drink any alcohol.
The study began with questioning of over 19,000 trim middle-aged and older women and as time passed by, women who drank alcohol in moderation put on less weight and were less suitable to become overweight compared to those who did not drink.
The theory was proved right even after taking into account lifestyles and dietary habits of the women, which are crucial in keeping their weights.
In the past also, studies have come up with various conjectures suggesting that moderate drinking – one or two drinks a day can be healthy for the body as well as heart. But this study, published in the latest issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, goes a little further proving links between alcohol intake by a normal weight woman and the risk of becoming heavy.
Women who drank higher amounts of alcohol were generally more physically active, weighed slightly less at the outset and were more apt to be smokers, than other women. However, the association between drinking and less weight gain and risk of becoming overweight or obese remained strong after accounting for these factors. This suggests that alcohol may independently affect body weight beyond its relationship with diet and lifestyle factors.
According to doctors, body may use calories from alcohol in a different way from other foods which affects increase in weight. They say alcohol is broken down by the liver using a different metabolic pathway to create heat, rather than fat.
However, there have been critical views of the study, trying to dissuade women from adopting this way of trying to loose weight.
“If these women have a healthy diet and lifestyle and are having one or two units of alcohol a night then that has less calories than someone who instead has a chocolate bar to unwind. It’s a question of “what’s your poison?” said Catherine Collins, a spokesperson for British Dietetic Association.
Benefits of drinking red wine have been well-recognized the world over.
According to experts, wine interferes with a body chemical responsible for clogging up the arteries. Many researches have shown that a glass of wine a day may increased good cholesterol by up to 16 percent, and reduced the clotting compound fibrinogen by up to 15 percent.
Meanwhile, a 2008 study has also suggested both red and white wine can bolster lung function.