====== Alcohol and body weight ======

Despite research over several decades - some involving more than 100,000 subjects - it's still unknown whether alcohol can (in general) cause body-weight gain.

Although alcohol is caloric - at around 7 calories per gram - it also increases metabolic rate - which, in effect 'burns' energy more quickly.

Another theory is that heavy drinkers tend to eat less - some research groups have found that alcohol might even have a //protective// effect on obesity.

Further reading [[https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2458-5-126|Patterns of alcohol drinking and its association with obesity: data from the third national health and nutrition examination survey, 1988–1994]] {{:oa_padlock_grn.png?16&nolink|open access}}//BMC Public Health//, volume 5, Article number: 126