One Major Side Effect of Drinking Alcohol If You're Overweight, New Study Says

[JennerLayne]

Saw this article and thought I'd share. . .

Alcohol is an undeniably mixed bag when it comes to your health. While the occasional glass of red wine may have a protective effect on your cardiovascular health, alcohol consumption has also been linked to increased risk of certain ailments, from esophageal cancer to cirrhosis of the liver.

For individuals who are overweight or obese, however, drinking alcohol may pose a particular health threat, according to a new study. A May 2021 study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that, in examining data from 465,437 adults between the ages of 40 and 69 over an average of 10.5 years, overweight or obese individuals were significantly more likely to develop liver health problems than their average-weight counterparts.

Individuals who drank more than the recommended amount for adults, as dictated by UK guidelines—no more than 14 units of alcohol a week, per the National Health Service (NHS)—had nearly a 600% higher risk of developing alcoholic fatty liver disease, and nearly a 700% higher risk of dying from the condition.

"People in the overweight or obese range who drank were found to be at greater risk of liver diseases compared with participants within a healthy weight range who consumed alcohol at the same level," explained senior author and research program director Emmanuel Stamatakis, Ph.D., a professor of physical activity, lifestyle, and population health at The University of Sydney's Charles Perkins Centre, in a statement.

However, it wasn't just excessive alcohol consumption that put overweight or obese individuals at greater risk. "Even for people who drank within alcohol guidelines, participants classified as obese were at over 50 percent greater risk of liver disease," said Stamatakis.

Fortunately, reducing your alcohol consumption could help solve two problems at once. According to the results of an observational study conducted by the European Association for the Study of Obesity in 2020, alcohol consumption was associated with a greater risk of obesity.

"Our results suggest that the risk of obesity and metabolic syndrome increases in proportion to alcohol consumption when male and female adults drink more than half a standard drink per day," the study's authors found, suggesting that cutting out those drinks may help reduce not only your weight but your future risk of liver ailments, too.

Read the original article on Eat This, Not That!

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Thank you for posting this

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Wow Jenner... has this information only just reached the States? it's common knowledge in the UK espcially amongst forum members suffering from severe liver disease caused by alcohol misuse. Unfortunately this kind of info isn't displayed where it needs to be which is in bars, restraunts, supermarkets, doctor's surgeries and hospitals etc etc etc.One of the many things missing here is just how highly calorific alcohol is, therefore contributing to obesity itself. Stating that a small amount of red wine may be beneficial in the prevention of heart disease, isn't even worth mentioning in the grand scheme of all the damage it causes to other organs. No regular drinker who doesn't/ can't drink in moderation is going to seriously say,

" I drink red wine to stop me getting heart disease."

Sadly even doctor's statements such as "Your liver is pickled and if you carry on drinking you will die ." Isn't enough for many to stop.

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Better off not drinking 🤠

[jeffersonsam99]

Consuming alcohol will cause several side effects. So better to say No to alcohol.

[Jebediah454 in reply to jeffersonsam99]

As someone else has posted - there needs to be more information like this readily available to the public

Alcohol doesn't just destroy the liver.

It affects cardiovascular health, GI tract health, neurological health. It pretty much affects every single part of you body, after all the toxins are literally in your blood for hours.

It is scary when you read up the damage that can be done by alcohol, all the while when you drink it, it disguises the damage it has done by numbing it.

[jeffersonsam99 in reply to Jebediah454]

I agree your comment. Alcohol causes several health issues in human body.

[Smegmer]

What about eating chocolate or burgers?

[Jebediah454 in reply to Smegmer]

The article is expressly on the damaging affects of alcohol on overweight and obese people. So, what about eating chocolate or burgers? it has nothing to do with the study in the article.

[Smegmer in reply to Jebediah454]

Well thanks for your amazing insight (sarcasm)! It doesn't make much sense, at 15 units you could be 700% more likely to have issues, but this suggests at 13 units this isn't so, maybe 50%. Thats an expensive couple units. Also 700% sounds very risky, but what is the actual chance, if have 0.2% chance of issues in the 1st place, 700% increase on that isn't that worrying.

Seems to be an anti alcohol piece, the truth of the matter is someone with metabolic issues are at risk from sweet and fatty foods aswel as alcohol and lack of exercise

[Jebediah454 in reply to Smegmer]

A couple of points

1. Anything in moderation can be safe with minimal chances of severe illness

2. Anything in excess (over the recommended amount) will ultimately increase the risks of side effects - the risk depends on the substance involved, the increase in risk can be shallow or steep, thats what scientific studies are for.

This is a rather extreme comparison, but if you look at diabetics, a slight overdose in insulin can be absolutely fatal, this can be as little as 1 unit of insulin over what is required to cause severe side effects.

Look at paracetamol, taking over 1g of paracetamol every 4 hours MASSIVELY increases the risk of acute liver failure.

So while you say, the 2 units between 13 and 15 are "very expensive units" it is simply the fine line between what your body can handle and what your body cannot. Maybe your liver is capable of processing 13 units per week comfortably with minimal issues but anything over that causes stress on the liver, and that stress highlighted causes a 700% increase in issues. When your liver is depleted from alcohol then all the other factors may be amplified too - while the article doesn't talk about these other factors, it may be clear that alcohol is the catalyst in the destruction that can be caused.

We also cannot look at this and be like "what if you have 0.2% chance of issues" there are MULTIPLE factors that could include chances of issues, this article simply highlights the effects of ALCOHOL.

I don't feel the article is anti-alcohol at all, it is simply highlighting the potential issues that you could face should you ignore the guidelines, it is far far tamer than what you would see on a cigarette packet trying to stop people from smoking.

Are you against such articles highlighting the dangers of alcohol? why is that? do you not want people to understand the damages that alcohol COULD do, or the the increased chances if they are overweight/obese. Do you not want a better understanding of how alcohol can affect the liver/body in certain conditions?

Of course - chocolate, burgers, fatty foods, processed foods ALL contribute to an increase chance of liver issues and/or other issues but the article is simply to highlight the increase caused by alcohol.

[Jebediah454 in reply to Jebediah454]

It also has to be noted that this 700% increase was over an average 10.5 years.

Not if you drink 15 units this week you are 700% increased at a risk of death vs someone who drinks 13. Its if you continually do that over many many years

[Smegmer in reply to Jebediah454]

I'm not buying it. It makes no sense for that jump from 13-15 to have that kind of affect. They would also have to have a meticulous list of food consumed and exercise for the 10.5 years for the whole picture.

I can see from your posting history that you are worried and now against Alcohol, not saying that's a bad thing, its probably saved your life.

I just want truth and balance, for the record I got very ill off only ~40 units a week.

Its things like dropping men to 14 units, this is entirely woke and political. It makes no sense and is anti science because a mans Liver is 30% bigger than a woman's because men don't have to make room for a womb. Also, men have more enzymes to break down alcohol amongst other advantages.

I do get the impression this a "fat people dont drink" drive.

[Jebediah454 in reply to Smegmer]

I think it would be impossible to totally scrutinise thousands of diets over many years.

While the 2 units per week seems like a small increase, over 10 years it is roughly 1050 units over the recommended in take (i would pretty much be over that unit count within a couple of months with my previous intake) so yeah it does in some ways seem far fetched. However I think there will be some level of truth to it, after all, we know alcohol is a toxin to the liver and being overweight puts you at higher risk of fatty liver.

The outside factors probably would alter the results significantly to the point where it would be most likely unreliable as most obese people typically have horrendous and varied diets but it is still a good highlight as to the dangers of going over the recommended units. Although again, when we look at other countries around the world and their recommended intake, some are double or even triple what the UK recommends.

From what I've gathered in my conquest to find out if I have "naffed" my liver, no one seems to have a clear cut answer as to how much alcohol can be bad for your liver, other than "anything over the recommended intake". Some people have claimed to drink 100 units per week for 20 years and only gotten hit by GI issues. Some have drank a bottle of wine a week for a few years and have liver disease. I mean it is a staggering statistic that only 10-25% of alcoholics will develop some form of liver disease, though I suspect that would be far far higher as a lot of alcoholics may die due to other causes before being diagnosed with any impending liver disease.

I also believe the word "alcoholic" as many people on here also believe, needs to be more medically defined. A lot of people I've seen in here refuse to believe they are an alcoholic, even though medically they are because they drink over the recommended intake per week for a long period of time. That may also be skewing the figures if you count your average joe have 15 units per week and being perfectly healthy for his entire life but still being classed as an alcoholic. I mean 14 units can be a quarter of whiskey over an entire week, or its a crate of beer and maybe a glass of wine with a meal, is that really being an alcoholic?. I think the word "alcoholic" should probably have a defined limit, maybe double the average world recommended figure to be counted towards figures and I can almost bet that the 10-25% would shoot up a fair amount, but again that might already be the case, I've not done research into that statistic

But it still does beg the question, and you are right, Why are some countries like Spain recommending 35 units per week (for males, 21 for females which goes more in line with your complaint re the male and female liver differentials) yet the UK suggests that 14 is the upper limit.

The joys of having a very analytical mind and getting in to these debates!

[Smegmer in reply to Jebediah454]

Yes, indeed. Alcoholic needs to be expanded. I was never anywhere near being physically dependant and drinking 24/7 etc. But I was almost certainly an abuser of it. Half a dozen pints were never too far away from my plans. My uncle is 62 and has drunk 2 bottles of wine for the last 10 years and that's when he slowed down ! He had bloods which were all normal, went for a Fibroscan, but I never got to hear the result.

When I 1st got ill I was terrified, in the end I went to the London Clinic and got a Fibroscan and consultation with a Liver Dr. They asked about how many units before the scan, I said ~40 and the guy just went "Pffftttt, you have been on Google haven't you". I got 4.2kpa and just over the threshold for fat, 233CAP, which was interesting since I hadn't have a drop of booze for 6 months before the scan. At no time did my ~40 units cause any concern with the Drs, they never even advised me to stop. They were more concerned about my nearly debilitating anxiety thinking I was about to need a transplant etc.

In theory the Liver can process 1 unit an hour, so in theory it should be able to handle a bottle of wine a day at 10units, fairly easily since there are 24 hours in a day. Its my stomach and colon that couldn't handle the ~40 units, took 18 months to get better.

I think the old days in the UK, the limit was 55units. A unit would also be relevant to the individual, 1 unit for a 6ft5 20stone rugby player would have less affect than a 5ft 8stone guy.

[Jebediah454 in reply to Smegmer]

I think we are pretty well similar in our experiences. Minus the period of my life where I would consume upwards of 100 units I would never say I was dependant on alcohol and 40 units per week is roughly what my intake would be for the majority of my life, the doctor too seems more concerned about my anxiety that its my liver and they have looked at the GI tract/ribs instead of the liver, I think my doctor too is on the side of 40-60 units per weeks isn't all that dangerous. But again, they also look at my age and suddenly shoot half of the possible issues out the window because hell I'm too young right? Tell that to the potential law suit I could've had them for when I was younger and the years of misdiagnosing me because of my age!

I was essentially always in control, sometimes I would slow down and not have any drink for 2 weeks but ultimately I accept I abused the hell out of alcohol, my problem wasn't inability to say no to alcohol, it's when I had "just one", the feeling of anxiety fading away and confidence taking over was what got me. I can't deny I was an alcoholic, after all I did hide my drinking from my partner who hated when I drank in excess, but I've always had control. I guess when alcohol is an easily accessible pain reliever (At the time) and confidence booster (at the time) its kind of easy to spiral out of control when the ethanol hits your bloodstream!

But yes, there are so so so many factors that are to be included in alcohol induced liver disease, so many are focussed more on the unitary intake than the dietary and other factors, and its a "one size fits all" policy, but I guess that is why they cant provide any clear statistics as to what will 100% cause it. Bob over there drinks 40 units a week while joe drinks 35 - joe some how ends up with liver cirrhosis and bob is scar free. No one can ultimately tell you why Joe got hit by it and no one can ultimately tell you why Bob didn't. Just like anything in life I guess, sometimes you just have to deal with the cards you're dealt. Hopefully my cards don't have liver scarring on them! will soon find out. But either way, I have learned my lesson with alcohol.

you've experienced the anxiety that your liver is naffed, that's exactly what I'm going through, as a lifelong sufferer from anxiety, I can tell you now, the anxiety that my liver is naffed trumps any other anxiety attack I've ever had 10 fold, sleepless nights, days where no one can get a word out of me because all I can focus on is the pain my back/ribs, just horrible. I guess its why I'm not fully against these articles, yes they may not tell the whole story, but more awareness should be out there about alcohol, I always knew it could damage the liver, I just didn't know to what extent that damage could ever be.

[Smegmer in reply to Jebediah454]

I didn't sleep for months either, I was climbing the walls with terror ! Just waiting for any number of horrible symptoms to manifest. Got to the stage where I couldn't leave my flat or face the world and I certainly didn't want to die in the street. But in the end I was massively over reacting !

I read a thread a few years ago, some guy did a lot of research about the 21 units at that time. He decided he was going to drink ~40units a week, it worked out something like 0.2% chance of getting Cirrhosis on 21 units and 0.6% at ~40unit. So a 300% increase, but still not very likely at all.

Alcohol does need a different approach, in school they were mainly focussed on warning us about drugs and with the culture in the UK I never really thought booze could be messing my stomach up etc.

[Jebediah454 in reply to Smegmer]

Yeah, there is a massive focus on smoking and drugs. Which I guess I heeded pretty well as I've never smoked nor done any hard drugs other than a puff of a joint once!

I guess drinking is embedded into our culture that no one seems to care about the harms of it, and being Scottish I always had a reputation to uphold at parties! I could never let anyone out drink me, unless they were maybe Irish. Weird that our nationality is a definition of how much we should be able to drink in party culture right?

I do believe it takes A LOT of alcohol to cause damage or a fairly high amount over a VERY long period of time for the majority of people, which is why I think people aren't too concerned about my symptoms, the majority of my concern comes from my painkiller usage mixed with my drinking, after all, its the doctors go to for all problems that present pain. Hell my friend would go to the doctors and complain of severe joint pain just to get a couple packs of tramadol for an occasional opioid high. No scans required, no hesitation, just here's 100 tramadol, take one whenever you need. Yes sir, I wont take 4 at once for a moderate calm high.

But still there seems to be the occasional case where low amounts of alcohol are taken and damage is caused, but again multiple factors could be involved, age, weight, gender, diet. Hard to really pin point, I guess that's why even liver specialists don't like trying to diagnose liver problems unless there is a clear cut problem like 100+ units weekly for 10+ years.

It is definitely something I have read, that you will most likely get GI issues before liver issues with alcohol (hence why its the doctors starting point with me) It's also why all the alcoholics would clear the shelves of the shop I worked in when I was a teen of any rennies or gaviscon we had. They would always come in, every day at 10am without fail, buy half bottle of vodka and a bottle of Gaviscon or a tube of rennies, the bottle of gaviscon would be opened before they left the shop then followed by the vodka. All of them are still alive to this date, what 12-15 years later, i'm baffled as to how they have not been hit by liver disease, they most likely have just are silently suffering or too drunk to realise that pain in their stomach isnt acid anymore

[Smegmer in reply to Jebediah454]

Ahh yes, the Rennies. I used take them and would just put it down to being nearly 40 at the time when I would get heart burn and reflux. Little did I know it was my insides giving me warning about booze. When I had my bloods done I had a high reading of Calcium, from the bloody Rennie, not good to have loads Calcium in your blood either.

I guess your next step is a Fibroscan ? Hopefully that will ease your fears.

If you haven't seen it already, this a good documentary. Adrian was on ~100 units and went for a Fibroscan at 51 years old. Interesting his bloods were normal too.

youtube.com/watch?v=RX2opvj...(Not working as expected?)

[Jebediah454 in reply to Smegmer]

Waiting on an ultra sound appointment for my next step.

Had an x-ray already as doctor thought maybe I had nerve damage in my ribs however a junior doctor friend also said they would have been checking for lung cancer but that came back fine. They keep mentioning gall bladder but the pain is constant and nothing other than alcohol aggravates it.

Hopefully the ultrasound comes asap and I can end the anxiety once and for all, will definitely continue the tee total journey though, life has been much better without the alcohol, even if I miss it sometimes

[Smegmer in reply to Jebediah454]

I stopped completely for 3 years. With lock down I had a few bottles of wine a week though, but I keep count of units now. I might stop again new year, only had 2 bottles of wine in the last 6 weeks.