Beer Bellies

[Jinx]

What the actual cause of beer bellies? And, if it is only from the alcohol, why/how does a beer belly form differently than simply being overweight? - Jinx

[silenus]

I believe research has shown that it isn’t so much a “beer” belly as it is a “nachos, chips, dip, hoagie, Get me another one while you’re up” belly. Men tend to put on weight above the waist anyway, and your typical “drink beer to excess” boozer doesn’t get all that much exercise to begin with.

[R.P.McMurphy]

@silenus

I believe research has shown that it isn’t so much a “beer” belly as it is a “nachos, chips, dip, hoagie, Get me another one while you’re up” belly. Men tend to put on weight above the waist anyway, and your typical “drink beer to excess” boozer doesn’t get all that much exercise to begin with.

I would like to accept what you say but I think you will find a lot of middle aged males that will tell you that they get as much or more exercise than they did when they were in their 20’s. Yet, they never had trouble keeping their abs in shape in their 20’s but in middle age it seems like a losing battle. Their strength is as good or better, their endurance is fine, reaction, speed and eye-hand coordination has diminished, but keeping weight down and fighting the bulge requires more effort than they ever imagined. Many just give up but there is something biological going on that makes it very difficult to get rid of the gut.

[Lakai]

@Spartydog

I would like to accept what you say but I think you will find a lot of middle aged males that will tell you that they get as much or more exercise than they did when they were in their 20’s. Yet, they never had trouble keeping their abs in shape in their 20’s but in middle age it seems like a losing battle. Their strength is as good or better, their endurance is fine, reaction, speed and eye-hand coordination has diminished, but keeping weight down and fighting the bulge requires more effort than they ever imagined. Many just give up but there is something biological going on that makes it very difficult to get rid of the gut.

This is because your body burns fewer calories at rest when you are older.

You can find the formula for your basal metabolic rate (the energy needed to function at rest) here. As you can see from looking at the formula, the higher your age, the lower your basal metabolic rate will be.

As for beer bellies, that just means your fat and not necessarily from drinking beer. It just so happens that people who drink a lot of beer don’t exercise enough to burn off all the calories they consume.

Why the beer belly may be a myth.

[Cluricaun]

It’s not a beer belly, it’s a gas tank for a love machine.

[misterW]

One can put on weight quite easily just from regularyly drinking a couple beers. Beers are usually not figured into one’s diet and are therefore in addition to everything the person ate that day. If we assume that the person ate just the right amount to keep their weight stable, then adding in 150 calories per beer on top of that will definitely cause weight gain over time. 3500 extra calories = gaining a pound. 3 beers or so a day and u can pack on a pound in a week. one can only imagine the delightful change in physique that can occur over months and years of drinking.

that being said, i belive the original poster was referring to the idea (which i have heard as well), that calories from alcohol accumulates on the abdomen more than calories from other food. this seems unlikely… anybody have any idea how this could be so?