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Obesity and drinking double trouble

Overweight drinkers raise the risk of liver disease

Posted in Diet on 13th March, 2010 | no responses

Research has found that the combination of being overweight and drinking alcohol can increase the risk of liver diseases such as cirrhosis. Two studies on over a million men and women in the UK found that obese women who drink just over a glass of wine a day have almost double the risk of other women. The British Medical Journal reported that a similar effect is observed in men. Dr Bette Liu of Oxford’s Cancer Epidemiology Unit said: ‘We estimate that almost 20% of liver cirrhosis in middle-aged UK women is due to excess weight, while almost 50% is due to alcohol consumption.’

In light of the findings, the authors of the research said that ‘safe’ alcohol limits for those who are overweight need to be refined.

The research illustrates that obesity can be detrimental for individual health, and can exacerbate the effects of other unhealthy lifestyle behaviours such as alcohol consumption.

Source: BBC News online, 13 March 2010.

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