Effects of Alcohol on Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome

Oh, Sang Woo

Abstract

Alcohol is one of the major public health problems in Korea. Korea has one of the highest heavy drinking rates among OECD nations (63.4%) and drinking rates have increased even more during the past years, especially in women. Alcohol is high in calories (7.1 kcal/g), however it is still controversial whether moderate intake of alcohol contributes as a risk factor for weight gain and obesity. Experimental studies demonstrated that moderate alcohol consumption enhances energy intake attributed to its caloric content as well as its appetite-enhancing effects. Others demonstrated that, although de-novo lipogenesis from alcohol is limited in human, alcohol suppresses lipid oxidation from adipose tissue and thus enhances fat deposition, preferentially in the abdominal area. There is a significant rise in the systolic and diastolic blood pressure after drinking. Meta-analysis demonstrated a significant rise in systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) of 2.7 mmHg and 1.4 mm Hg, respectively, after alcohol intake. Effect of alcohol on type 2 diabetes is also controversial and not conclusive. However, some studies demonstrated the effect of heavy drinking on enhancement of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Alcohol decreased the risk of low HDL -cholesterol, but enhanced that of hypertriglyceridemia. This contrary effect on blood lipid profile seems to evoke some conflicting study results concerning the effect of alcohol on cardiovascular events. Previous evidences supported the beneficial effects of moderate alcohol consumption on metabolic syndrome. However, some recent studies and also those involving Korean data suggest that heavy drinking has harmful effects on metabolic syndrome and obesity. Although the mechanisms explaining these dose-dependent differential effects of alcohol need to be elucidated, avoiding heavy drinking seems to be an important issue in the prevention of obesity and metabolic syndrome.