Alcohol is enjoyed by many people around the world; a number of reasons have been cited as to why people drink alcohol, for example, to enhance sociability, escape problems, get drunk, for enjoyment, among other things. Alcohol is produced by fermentation of grains, fruits, or other sources of sugar that acts as a drug. Scientists say that during the fermentation, the carbohydrates such as starch and sugars in the main source are transformed into carbon dioxide and ethyl alcohol, which is the base of all alcoholic beverages. According to different nutritionists and dietitians, due to the great calorie presence in alcohol, it is one of the biggest causes of weight gain, among other health-related issues. If you are wondering how alcohol makes you gain weight, nutritionists explain more on this. “Evidence has established a correlation between alcohol and weight gain, specifically, it impacts the occurrence of hypertension. However, alcohol as a risk factor of different health issues also depends on the type of alcohol, volume consumed, frequency of drinking, what you eat when drinking and sometimes the genetics,” Private Kamanzi, a nutritionist at Amazon Nutrition Cabinet, says. “For instance beers reduce fat breakdown, hence, increase fat storage in the body causing weight gain. Since most beers are made from malt which is a cereal and good carbohydrate source (energy), it means that the more one drinks, the more calories, which are converted into stored energy in the body, causing an increase in weight that could lead to obesity,” he adds. Kamanzi notes that most beer drinkers tend to eat while they drink, like roasted meat (brochette), or meat cooked with too much oil, pork etc., this causes accumulation of unnecessary stored energy which results in weight gain. “Eventually, the body burns stored calories causing a person to feel hungry and eat too much in a short period of time to relieve the hunger, and in doing so, gaining weight. The liquor with over 40 per cent alcohol content will exert stress on the liver to detoxify alcohol from the body, and frequent pressure on the liver can cause cirrhosis,” he says. Cirrhosis is a condition in which your liver is scarred and permanently damaged. “One ingredient or one gram of alcohol contains seven calories, which means that if you take too much alcohol, it provides more energy and results in weight gain in a way you don’t want,” says Jean Damascene Nshimiyimana, a nutritionist at Rwanda Nutritionist Association. He says, “When alcohol is taken, it must be used to give energy until it is exhausted. Therefore, when you eat, other nutrients mainly carbohydrates will be stored because the body uses that energy from alcohol and the nutrients stored could be the cause of weight gain.” Medical News Today states that different people take alcohol in indeterminate amounts and drink without reflecting on the risks, but when you see people suffering from obesity or being overweight, it’s because of all those behaviours they do not care about and do not know how harmful they are. When drinking alcoholic beverages, you always have what to eat on the table and when the body receives more energy than needed, it has to store it and use it in a certain way when it is essential—that’s why unused energy turns into fats and develops into body weight, the aforementioned site states.
