Health

Can alcohol reduce calorie intake?

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Close up of group of business people toasting with wine during a Christmas party. Focus is on foreground.

Close up of group of business people toasting with wine during a Christmas party. Focus is on foreground.

A paper recently looked at the link between blood alcohol levels and feeding behavior in rats.

Alcohol is known to have a high-calorie content with 7 kilocalories per gram. When compared with food, carbohydrates offer 4 kilocalories per gram, while fat provides 9. For example, a glass of red wine will carry 83 calories, meaning if a person consumes 3 glasses, they have effectively consumed 10% of their daily calorie intake. Therefore after a few glasses of wine a person can still consume a meal and be well over their calorie intake.

With alcohol consumption and obesity on the rise, researchers have been looking at how alcohol affects a person’s appetite. Studies in the past have been contradictory, with some showing an increase in appetite and food intake, whereas others have shown the reverse.

Scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have decided to look at the effects of alcohol on rats. The scientists offered the rats alcohol, however, they will only consume quantities that will make them tipsy, meaning that they will not binge drink.

The study found that rats that drank moderately had no change in their caloric intake for the rest of the day. However, when the rats were injected with alcohol, to mimic binge drinking, the rats consumed fewer calories.

The researcher said that it was difficult to draw a conclusion from the study, mainly because humans when drinking in a social situation have a variety of food options, which can  artificially encourage appetite.

 

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