Alcohol Consumption A Risk Factor For Obesity?

Alcohol consumption along with physical inactivity and an unhealthy diet is one of the significant causes of disability and diseases. Public awareness of alcohol harm is limited to almost 90% of people unaware that alcohol causes cancer.

Alcohol beverages have been consumed by humans since times immemorial for a variety of reasons like during celebrations, for releasing the stress of the entire day, for getting high, for releasing pressure and so much more. Nowadays, recreational alcohol intake is standard across the globe giving rise to health and social problems.

Although moderate alcohol consumption is harmless, excessive alcohol consumption is the third leading cause of premature death. Obesity is one of the results of excessive alcohol consumption.

Among the many problems associated with heavy drinkings, like cancer and brain tumor, the relationship between alcohol intake and body weight has been extensively studied over the past years. Since both alcohol consumption and obesity are of public health concern, it is being taken into consideration to understand the association between alcohol consumption and excess body weight.

A study on the effects of alcohol consumption on body weight indicated that alcohol intake is not associated with body mass index (BMI) in men, and not associated with BMI in women.

The recent study shows that the risk of obesity was 70% higher in the people who are heavy drinkers as compared to the ones who drink less. To be more precise excess of alcohol consumption in both males and females is one reason behind increasing abdominal fat, which turns out to be very stubborn to burn.

We might not generally see today’s generation in coffee houses or libraries, and we would rather find them in taverns or retail shops selling alcohol. Australia’s current alcohol taxation system is complex and illogical.

Most alcoholic beverages are taxed based on their alcohol content, but different rates of tax are applied to different products.Beers have the lowest rates, and spirits and ready to drink beverages (such as a can of bourbon and cola) have the highest. Wine is taxed using a different system based on the final wholesale price.

Not as lofty and foolproof, but increasing the price of alcohol is one of the most effective ways of reducing consumption to reduce obesity. Most of the population consuming heavy quantity of alcohol belongs to the upper middle class, and hence an increase in prices would make them lower the consumption of alcohol to not go in debt.