Weight Loss Study Offers New Reasons to Drink Less

It should hardly come as a surprise that, according to a recent study led by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania,¹ consumption of alcohol has been linked to difficulty with long term weight loss for people with Type 2 diabetes. Indeed, it hardly takes the strict determination of a keto dieter to know that regular or heavy drinking will put a dent in any weight loss efforts. Keto in particular, however, requires bidding farewell to tall pints of beer and the shaded comfort of a pina colada with one of those little beach umbrellas.

Nonetheless, the results of the study were mixed depending on the amount of alcohol participants usually consumed and the timeframe of the measurements being taken, speaking to the cautionary–but not entirely prohibitive–approach to drinking that many people take when they begin a diet. The good news for current and prospective keto dieters is that not all alcohol need necessarily be off the table (check out Tasteaholics’ recently updated Ultimate Keto Alcohol Guide for the list of dos and don’ts, and the reasons why).

Trouble in the Long Term

The study, published in the journal Obesity, measured the weight loss of overweight or obese Type 2 diabetics undergoing a lifestyle intervention over the course of four years.¹ After the first year, there was no significant difference between the amount of weight lost by those who drank regularly and those who abstained altogether. After four years, however, those who did not drink lost an average of a little more than five percent of their total body weight, more than twice as much as those who did drink. Those in the heavy drinking category were shown to have the most trouble losing weight and were very unlikely to achieve set weight loss goals.

While the results of this study are certainly less significant for anyone who is not overweight or obese and suffering from diabetes, they nonetheless provide some substantial evidence of alcohol’s effect on long-term weight loss. The thing is, it’s difficult to know how much of this is due to alcohol’s unique impact on the body versus the sheer amount of carbs you’re consuming in any given drink.

Is Smart Drinking Possible?

Take, for example, the recipe for a traditional margarita. With its sweet lime juice and syrupy Triple sec, it contains anywhere from 12 to 20 grams of sugar per serving.² Sure, it’s intuitively understood that when you’re pouring yourself a hoppy pint of pale ale, you might as well be melting a loaf of bread into your glass, but mixers will also do serious damage to anyone trying to limit their carb intake.

There are ways to be carb-conscious when you drink (hint: clear liquors, seltzer instead of tonic, etc.) and keep up a successful keto diet without having to sacrifice your Saturday nights. Moderation, however, is the bottom line for serious keto dieters, and as the study above shows, sustained heavy drinking over the course of several years could have a significant negative impact on your weight loss ambitions.

Dr. Rosmy Barrios, MD

This article has been medically reviewed by Dr. Rosmy Barrios, MD.

Dr. Rosmy Barrios, MD is an aesthetic medicine specialist whose work focuses on patients who are treated for obesity, metabolic syndrome, and other weight-related issues through nutritional analysis, keto diet programs, and supporting medications.

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Ryan Mernin

Ryan is a freelance writer and editor based in Philadelphia. He has edited books of Chinese philosophy, interviewed bands as a music journalist, and labored over satirical treatises in the candlelit hours of the early morning. He has also tended bar.

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