A research study that Dr. Jean-Philippe Chaput and former HALO MSc student Greg Traversy published in 2015 titled, “Alcohol Consumption and Obesity: An Update,” was featured yesterday in a New York Times story, “Do We Need to Give Up Alcohol to Lose Weight? Not Necessarily“.
From the story:
I plowed through more than two dozen research reports, many with conflicting findings on the relationship between alcohol and weight, and finally found a thorough review of the science that can help people determine whether drinking might be compatible with effective weight management.
The review, published in 2015 in Current Obesity Reports, was prepared by Gregory Traversy and Jean-Philippe Chaput of the Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute in Ottawa, Ontario.
…
Their summary of the findings: Most such studies showed that “frequent light to moderate alcohol intake” — at most two drinks a day for men, one for women — “does not seem to be associated with obesity risk.” However, binge drinking (consuming five or more drinks on an occasion) and heavy drinking (more than four drinks in a day for men, or more than three for women) were linked to an increased risk of obesity and an expanding waistline. And in a departure from most of the other findings, some of the research indicated that for adolescents and (alas) older adults, alcohol in any amount may “promote overweight and a higher body fat percentage.”
Click here to read the entire news story.
