Research
Energy balance
Alcohol consumption increases diet-induced thermogenesis (DIT) similarly to protein, but it does not positively affect energy balance or body weight regulation.
While alcohol does increase the calories burned during digestion (thermogenesis), it adds extra calories to your diet without helping you feel fuller or burn enough extra energy to offset the intake. Therefore, it does not help with weight management.
ModerateQualifiesMEDIUM confidence
The higher DIT value of alcohol and protein compared with carbohydrate and fat has implications for the effect of these nutrients on energy balance. However, the main effect on energy balance does not seem to be primarily linked to the lower bioavailability of alcohol-and protein energy than that of fat and carbohydrate. Alcohol energy is largely additive to the normal diet but does not seem to affect energy balance positively.
Why this rating
Based on specific studies cited, but the conclusion about energy balance is more interpretive.
Source
Diet induced thermogenesis
Klaas R. Westerterp · Nutrition & Metabolism · 2004
DOI 10.1186/1743-7075-1-5
narrative_reviewCited 528×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Increasing the protein fraction of a meal significantly increases diet-induced thermogenesis (DIT) compared to carbohydrate or fat, with protein showing the highest thermic effect among macronutrients.Good
- Obese individuals exhibit significantly lower diet-induced thermogenesis (DIT) compared to lean individuals when matched for age and other factors.Good
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