

National Health and Medical Research Council. New England Journal of Medicine 375: 794-798. Body fatness and cancer – viewpoint of the IARC Working Group. Lauby-Secretan, B., Scoccianti, C., Loomis, D., Grosse, Y., Bianchini, F., & K. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 66, 813-818. The effect of current and lifetime alcohol consumption on overall and central obesity. A picture of overweight and obesity in Australia. 4Īustralian Institute of Health and Welfare (2017). The government must do more to raise awareness of the links between alcohol and obesity, rather than treating them as separate issues. Alcohol, appetite and energy balance: Is alcohol intake a risk factor for obesity? Physiology & Behaviour 100(1): 82-89. 12 13 The key nutrients affected include thiamin, folate, B12, vitamin A, magnesium, calcium, potassium, zinc and folic acid. 12 Because alcohol causes damage to the organs involved in digesting, absorbing and processing nutrients, it can lead to nutrient deficiencies in those who drink at high-risk levels. The small intestine is the organ in which nutrients are mostly absorbed into the bloodstream. 11 The liver is responsible for breaking down the alcohol and removing it from the bloodstream.
METABOLIC FACTOR MEAL PLAN FULL
On an empty stomach, it takes around 30 minutes for the alcohol in one standard drink to enter the bloodstream and 60 minutes on a full stomach. 12 The rest of the alcohol travels to the small intestine where the remainder gets absorbed. 11 The stomach starts the breakdown of alcohol with an enzyme called alcohol dehydrogenase. 11Īlcohol begins its journey through the digestive system in the mouth, where it then travels down the oesophagus to the stomach, where some of the alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream. Instead, it is absorbed directly in the blood stream. Limiting the amount of alcohol you drink to reduce your kilojoule intake is a heathier choice than trying to offset the kilojoule load in other ways. Reducing the amount you eat or exercising more to compensate for extra kilojoules from alcohol can impact both your physical and mental health. Cravings for these types of foods can occur when drinking, but also when ‘hungover’ the next day. 3ĭrinking alcohol can also increase the desire for foods high in fat, salt, sugar and kilojoules from take-away, like burgers, kebabs and pizzas. Impact on food choicesĪlcohol use can actually stimulate increased food intake, 3 so its not just the alcohol that increases overall calorie intake.įor example, studies have shown that when alcohol is consumed before or with meals, food intake is greater by as much as up to 30%. For example, a can of soft drink with two shots of whiskey contains approximately 1,200 kJs, 9 which is equivalent to the kilojoules in a small meal.

mixers), alcoholic drinks contain even more calories. If someone drinks two full strength beers (375mL) or two glasses of wine (150mL) each day, this equates to approximately three standard drinks and represents 10% of the total daily energy intake. The National Health and Medical Research Council Australian Guidelines to Reduce Health Risks from Drinking Alcohol recommend having no more than 10 standard drinks a week to reduce the risk of harm over a lifetime. This means the amount of kilojoules you consume from alcohol is actually even higher. For example, a glass of wine served at a restaurant is often around 150 mL, which is 1.5 standard drinks. However, the drinks served in restaurants, pubs and at home are often much larger than one standard drink. 5 In Australia, one standard drink contains 10 grams of alcohol, which provides 290 kJ of energy from the alcohol alone. Alcohol contains a lot of kilojoulesĮach gram of pure alcohol has 29 kJ. 4 6ĭrinking alcohol can lead to weight gain in three ways: 1. Regularly drinking alcohol can contribute to weight gain and obesity, 5 which increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and 13 types of cancer. For example, when energy (calorie) intake from eating and drinking is greater than energy lost through physical activity, 4 weight gain can occur. Weight gain occurs when there is a sustained energy imbalance. 3 Over time, consuming more kilojoules than you need and not eating enough healthy foods can increase the risk of weight gain and other health issues linked to poor diets. 2 People who drink alcohol can often also choose less healthy food options, including those high in fat, sugar, salt and kilojoules (kJ), when drinking or the day after. 1Īlcohol (and their calories) are generally consumed in addition to the food and drink people normally consume. Alcoholic drinks represent ‘empty calories’, meaning they are high in kilojoules but do not deliver any nutritional benefit.
