“The term ‘beer belly’ expresses the common belief that beer consumption is a major determinant of waist circumference (WC). We studied the gender-specific associations between beer consumption and WC (partially in relation to body weight and hip circumference (HC) change)… A positive association in men and no association in women were seen between beer consumption and WC at baseline. Men consuming 1000 ml/d beer were at 17% higher risk for WC gain compared with very light consumers. Significantly lower odds for WC gain (odds ratio=0.88; 95% confidence interval 0.81, 0.96) were found in beer-abstaining women than in very-light-drinking women… Decreasing beer consumption was related to higher relative odds for WC loss, although not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Beer consumption leads to WC gain, which is closely related to concurrent overall weight gain. This study does not support the common belief of a site-specific effect of beer on the abdomen, the beer belly.”
Thanks to Jean-Michel for today’s ROFL!
And speaking of beer bellies, don’t forget the celebration tonight at 6pm (’til whenever we decide to leave) at Jupiter in Berkeley. The first two people to buy us a round will get a free NCBI ROFL beer stein! Hope to see you there!
December 18th, 2009 at 1:12 am
Well, we know where the grant money for this study went…
February 12th, 2010 at 2:24 am
Believe it or not! There are more calories in beer and other alcoholic drinks than any other beverage or food out there. If you are on a diet or if you want to lose weight and fat, you wouldn’t really want to engage in frequent beer drinking sessions right?