Whence Beer Bellies?

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WHY DO BEER DRINKERS GET BEER BELLIES? IT'S OBvious: beer, like alcohol in general, is full of calories. Except that the obvious is only part of the story. The Journal of the American Medical Association reports that Swiss physiologists have found that alcohol not only adds calories to the diet but also keeps the body from burning dietary fat properly. Booze in the bloodstream can slow down fat metabolism more than 30% -- though it speeds up the burning of carbohydrates. When fat isn't metabolized, it gets deposited on thighs, hips, stomach and other embarrassing parts of the body. So while one answer to an inappropriately bulging physique might be to give up alcohol entirely, going on the wagon is not necessarily the only solution. Another is simply to reduce the percentage of fat in the diet.