Moderate drinking linked to weight control

It might be time to add weight control to the growing list of potential benefits for light to moderate drinking.

A study of more than 19,000 women aged 39 and older conducted by researchers at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospitals found that normal-weight women who drank alcohol in moderation were less likely than women who didn't drink at all to become overweight or obese over more than a dozen years of follow-up.

Those who drank the equivalent of one to two drinks a day -- be it beer, wine, or liquor -- were 30% less likely than non-drinkers to become overweight or obese.

Study co-researcher Howard S. Sesso, ScD, MPH, cautions that people who do not drink alcohol should not take up the habit to keep from gaining weight.

"That would not be a good idea," he says. "But for women who already drink in moderation, this can be seen as encouraging. Alcohol has traditionally been thought of as empty calories, but in this study light to moderate drinking was associated with less weight gain, not more."

(Via WebMD)