Change in alcohol intake in relation to weight change in a cohort of United States men with 24 years of follow-up

OBJECTIVE: We sought to prospectively investigate potential effects of alcohol by subtype on reported long-term weight change. METHODS: We examined change in alcohol intake (total, wine, light beer, regular beer, liquor) and simultaneous change in reported body weight within four-year periods from 1986 to 2010 from U.S. men in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. We adjusted for age, change in lifestyle and dietary covariates and cardiovascular risk factors. RESULTS: We observed 44,603 four-year periods from 14,971 men. Total alcohol, total beer, regular beer, and liquor, modeled as the increase in weight per increase in drink/day, were each directly associated with moderate weight gain over four-year periods, in pounds: total alcohol: 0.23 (0.10–0.35); total beer: 0.29 (0.08–0.51); regular beer: 0.61 (0.22–1.00); liquor: 0.28 (0.09–0.48). Results for wine and light beer were wine: 0.16 (−0.04–0.36); light beer: −0.38 (−1.07–0.08). Results were strongest for men <55 years old. CONCLUSIONS: Increased alcohol consumption was associated with minor reported weight gain at levels unlikely to be clinically meaningful. Beverage specific differences are not substantial enough to make dietary recommendations for weight loss or maintenance by beverage type. The greatest risk of weight gain was among men that increased consumption to levels well above moderation.