Energy balance
Among adults with overweight or obesity and type 2 diabetes undergoing intensive lifestyle intervention, long-term abstinence from alcohol is associated with significantly greater weight loss compared to consistent heavy drinking, whereas short-term (1-year) weight loss is not significantly affected by alcohol consumption.
If you have type 2 diabetes and are trying to lose weight, your alcohol intake matters most for your long-term results (after 1 year). While you might lose weight in the first year regardless of drinking, heavy drinkers will struggle to maintain that loss over 4 years. Abstaining from alcohol helps you lose significantly more weight (5.1% vs 2.4%) in the long run because alcohol adds empty calories that don't make you feel full.
ILI participants who abstained from alcohol consumption over the 4 years lost 1.6% ± 0.5% more weight relative to individuals who drank alcohol at any time during the intervention (P = 0.003)... ILI participants who abstained from alcohol lost 5.1% ± 0.3% of initial weight at year 4 compared with a significantly (P = 0.04) smaller 2.4% ± 1.3% for consistent heavy drinkers.
Why this rating
Large randomized controlled trial (n=4,901) with 4-year follow-up, though alcohol intake was self-reported.
Source
Alcohol Intake and Weight Loss During Intensive Lifestyle Intervention for Adults with Overweight or Obesity and Diabetes
Ariana M. Chao et al. · Obesity · 2018
DOI 10.1002/oby.22316
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