Does Drinking Alcohol Make You Gain Weight?

Learn about the many different factors that influence weight gain or loss and the role that alcohol can play in this delicate balance.

Many people who use alcohol¹ wonder why they find it more difficult to lose or even maintain weight. While alcohol use does not make weight gain inevitable (and can even lead to malnutrition), it can play an important role in causing people to gain weight through the many different effects it causes.

While alcohol may result in weight gain, studies show³ inconclusive results in those who only use light or moderate amounts of alcohol. In contrast, heavy drinkers appear to have a greater risk of gaining weight when using alcohol.

Alcohol and Weight Gain

Weight gain is a complex topic. It can depend on the calories you eat, how much energy you expend and other health considerations specific to each individual. Alcohol does, however, play a significant role in potential weight gain. There are four main ways that alcohol can lead to weight gain⁴. These include:

• Inhibiting your body’s ability to burn fat
• Contributing high amounts of calories in alcoholic drinks
• Creating increased hunger and less satiety (feeling full or not hungry)
• Causing you to make poor food choices

These different effects of alcohol may increase your risk of gaining weight. However, weight gain or loss ultimately depends on a wide variety of lifestyle choices, not just one activity.

How Alcohol Could Lead to Gaining Weight

Alcohol can impact weight in many different ways. When alcohol is used, it becomes the primary fuel source⁵ for the body. This means that when your body would normally be burning fat, it instead burns energy from the alcohol, stopping the fat from being metabolized. 

Additionally, alcohol is high in calories² itself. Weight gain or loss is due to a balance of how many calories are ingested vs. how many calories are burned — drinking alcohol tips the scale toward increased weight gain.

Alcohol also affects the hormones that control hunger⁶, making you feel more hungry than you normally would. Simultaneously, alcohol affects your judgment and decreases your inhibitions⁷, making you more likely to choose unhealthy, fattening foods.

Other Factors That Determine Weight Gain

While alcohol may contribute to weight gain, many different factors will ultimately affect your weight. Weight gain occurs when the amount of calories you eat exceeds the number of calories you burn, and weight loss occurs when the opposite is true. While this sounds simple, there are many different things that affect this balance⁸, including:

• Genetics
• Age
• Overall health
• Certain medical conditions
• Your normal metabolism
• The foods you eat
• How much you eat
• How active you are
• Medications you use
• Sleep quality
• Stress levels
• Ethnicity
• Gender
• Your culture’s relationship with food

All of these factors work together to influence your behaviors, the number of calories that you ingest and how you burn these calories.

Even the potential effects of drinking alcohol on weight vary significantly⁴ based on different factors. These factors may include:

• The caloric content of alcohol used
• How frequently alcohol is used
• How much alcohol is used
• The food you eat while drinking
• Your body and lifestyle choices 

While alcohol definitely has the potential to impact how likely you are to gain weight, the complexity of the topic makes it necessary to consider the broader context of your lifestyle and how alcohol plays a role in it.

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If you use alcohol and can’t stop, even when you are concerned that it is negatively impacting your weight or life, you may have an addiction to alcohol. The Recovery Village Cherry Hill at Cooper has a proven track record of helping those addicted to alcohol overcome the burden of alcoholism through evidence-based treatment. Contact us today to discuss your situation, learn more about treatment and get started on the path to long-term recovery.