Calories in Alcoholic Beverages & in Non-Alcoholic as Well

A common way of trying to discourage alcohol drinking among college students is to stress the calories in alcoholic beverages. But this may have dangerous outcomes.

             Overview

I.   The Study

II.  Calories in Beverages

III. Resources

I. The Study

A study of 4,271 students from ten colleges were in the research. Thirty-nine percent of the students had drunk within the previous 30 days. They reported that they restricted their eating on days they planned to drink alcohol. Of these, 67% said they ate less on those days because of weight concerns.

Eating less on days they drank led to a greater risk of intoxication. Women who ate less were more likely to report bad outcomes. These included blackouts, being injured, sexual assault, and unprotected sex. Men who ate less were more likely to get into physical fights.

calories in alcoholic beveragesThe practice of eating before and while drinking is good. That’s because it reduces intoxication. Yet many reduce their eating on days they drink. And they do so because of calories in alcohol.

Most alcohol beverages contain fewer calories than most non-alcohol beverages. And alcoholic beverages contain no fat or cholesterol and are very low in carbs.

II. Calories in Alcoholic Beverages vs Non-Alcoholic

BeverageCaloriesCarbs (grams)Fat (grams)
Alcoholic
Beer (regular)14613.13.000
Beer (lite)994.60.000
All Distilled Spirits (rum, vodka, whiskey, gin, tequila, bourbon, etc.)970.00.000
Wine (red)1253.5.000
Wine (white)1203.5.000
Non-Alcoholic
Apple juice (unsweetened)11728.96.273
Apricot juice14036.11.226
Carbonated cola15539.77.000
Grape juice (unsweetened)15537.84.202
Grapefruit juice (unsweetened)9422.13.247
Lemonade13134.05.149
Milk (2% fat)12211.414.807
Orange juice (unsweetened)11226.84.149
Prune juice18244.67.077
Tangerine juice (unsweetened)12529.88.098
Tomato juice4110.30.122

Source: USDA Nutrient Data Lab.

And many studies have shown that drinking tends not to increase weight. Also, among women, it is often leads to slight losses in weight.

So the use of the “alcohol will make you fat” tactic appears to be counter productive and undesirable.

III. Resources: Calories in Alcoholic Beverages

Web Pages

Source

Note

This site gives no advice.