Beer and wine Alcohol quickly leads to overweight

Experts: Alcohol makes you fat

It is most clearly shown by beer bellies: There is a connection between alcohol and fat. Consumer advocates and physicians warn against the fattening alcohol. The European Parliament is discussing whether calorie intake should be based on alcoholic beverages.

Consumers better informed about alcohol than fattening
At regular tables you can often hear phrases like: "Three beers are also a schnitzel!". And indeed, a glass of Hefeweizen à 0.5 liters with 215 calories to book, a glass of wine with about 130 calories and cocktails such as Caipirinha bring it on even more. As news agency dpa reports, European parliamentarians are now calling for consumers to be better informed about alcohol than fattening. In the future, alcoholic beverages should therefore have a caloric value on the packaging. On Wednesday, a vote on the demand was on the agenda.

Energy content of alcohol similar to fat
For experts it is clear that alcohol has a high energy content. The nutrition expert of the Berlin Charité, Prof. Andreas Pfeiffer, emphasizes that "with about seven calories per gram it is close to fat (nine calories per gram)". So you do not have to be an alcoholic to take in addition to food a relevant amount of calories on wine, beer or brandy. In a large-scale study in 2011, researchers investigated how the consumption of two glasses affects daily. It showed that he favored a higher body weight in men. Furthermore, a larger waist circumference was measured in both sexes.

Big belly by beer
As at that time under the headline: Alcohol consumption increased overweight risk was reported, the scientists of the German institute for nutritional science Potsdam Rehkrueber (DifE) in the EPIC study (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition) the data of 250,000 adult Europeans evaluated , First author Manuela Bergmann from DifE said to dpa: "Those who drank more beer had a thicker belly. But the connection was a bit weaker even with wine drinkers. "

Alcohol also has an appetizing effect
Whether it really is the energy content of the alcohol itself, which makes you fat, is not finally clarified, according to Bergmann. Alcohol also acts appetizing and deterrent. In addition, it is the first in the body degraded, especially in the liver. Bergmann suspects that because of this detoxification and influences on the metabolism of fat metabolism with the food absorbed energy could be processed differently. In addition, the researchers observed an altered hormone level, which may affect the distribution of fat in the body. Bergmann documented in her study, "that alcohol-consuming participants had a rather stronger waist in relation to the hip for their gender."

Labeling is also viewed critically
Alcohol also increases the risk of certain types of cancer and with fat in the upper abdomen increases the risk of many other diseases. The researcher fears that the labeling could change the perception of beer, wine and co. "Caloric beverages would put alcoholic beverages in line with food." The indication of the alcohol content was more important in terms of health. After all, the physician Prof. Manfred Singer sees an increase in information for consumers: "In terms of obesity, many underestimate the influence of alcohol," says the expert. "For calorie-conscious consumers, labeling can make sense," says physician Pfeiffer. "But one should not expect people to lose weight." The labeling of food had not had such an effect either.

Germans drink a lot of alcohol
The consumer protection organization Foodwatch also sees gaps in foodstuffs despite EU regulations. According to a spokesman, crucial information was missing. In addition, nutritional information on the front of packaging is criticized because it would be unrealistically calculated small portions. The organization has not yet taken a position on the labeling of alcoholic beverages. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) of 2014, particularly high levels of alcohol are consumed in Europe and especially in Germany. This is attributed by search experts, among other things, the low prices and availability around the clock. (Ad)

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