# The myth of the "beer gut" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 5, 2001, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-myth-of-the-beer-gut/56854 "2001-03-05T21:39:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![galen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecc23a/32.png) [@galen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2001, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-myth-of-the-beer-gut/56854/21 "2001-03-06T15:28:37Z")
I think that its easy to consume a lot of extra calories if you drink beer that is on top of all the food calories. ---
**Author:** ![Milossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Milossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milossarian)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2001, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-myth-of-the-beer-gut/56854/22 "2001-03-06T16:01:59Z")
Well, think about it. If you’re a regular beer-drinker, drinking six or more every few days, that’s a _lot_ of calories and carbs to burn off through activity. Most people aren’t active enough to shed the surplus, and it accumulates over time. (Kind of like our national debt.) If you’re a beer-drinker (like me), ask yourself: Is there anything else in your life that you consume the way you do beer? Do you sit and drink a 6-pack of cola? Eat six bowls of hearty soup? Didn’t think so. And genes certainly do play a factor. Some are more predisposed to develop The Gut. Others don’t seem to have such targeted weight gain and fat storage. Everybody on one side of my family has the same kind of gut. Even my uncle, who is more or less skinny, has The Curse. (Think of a python that has swallowed a capybara.) It will be a never-ending struggle for some of us. Cuz I ain’t givin’ up the beer. Uh uh. No way. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-myth-of-the-beer-gut/56854.md?page=1)