Does beer cause beer bellies?

Take these three blokes from Melbourne: Warren, Mark and Mick. You don't develop beer bellies like theirs without some pretty dedicated drinking.

Beer lover Warren: "Just come off a pretty solid weekend of, well, let's call it binge drinking. It was fun, it was probably a good 35 to 40 pots.

Forty pots in one weekend! That can't be good.

What about his mate Mark? "When at the pub it's nice to have some chips or some nuts …"

Health food, that's bound to help.

Mick: "I don't know what these guys are complaining about. They don't have a gut between them."

Oh Mick, surely that lager's making you larger and that stout must be making you stouter?

Or is it?

"I do drink beer. I like beer," says our gut guru, Melbourne GP, Dr Harry Hemly.

"A beer belly is the accumulation of fat around the midriff, which is really associated with the too much intake of the fats and carbohydrates."

But what about beer? It's time for our reporter Michael Slater and the boys to step up for some serious research.

The test

Michael: "My challenge is to drink two beers a day to see if I put on weight. We already know my waist measurement is 84 centimetres. I'm putting my trim, taught and terrific figure all on the line for this show."

There can't be many better challenges for a bloke. But for our three amber-loving amigos, life's no longer going be a barrel of laughs. Not a beer barrel anyway! They've agreed to give up the golden nectar for a fortnight and see what happens to their waistlines.

Dr Harry's agreed to play referee and of course, the guys will be sticking to their regular diet and exercise routine.

Time for the weigh-in and the all-important girth test.

Warren weighs in at 105 kilos and is an even 100cm round the middle.

Dr Harry: "Wow, that's a pretty good sized belly there."
Warren: "Yeah, well it's all paid for!"

Mark's the lightweight of our trio at 65 kilos and a modest 95cm waistline.

Harry: "You're sucking it in mate."
Mark: "Don't know what happened there."

Mick's got the most to lose. At almost 101 kilos, he's a match-winning 114cm round the belly!

Harry: "Beautiful, we have a winner."

Dr Harry records the vital statistics, so there'll be no argy-bargy later on.

So Michael will be struggling to bravely down two beers a day. While in the ladies lounge, it's Shirley Temples all round for the next two weeks for our beer trio.

Will our boys' kegs shrink to six packs?

Meanwhile, while Michael tries to keep up with his part of this important study, he has discovered that he might be doing his body some good. "I'm forcing down two beers a day, but it turns out, far from giving myself a beer belly, I might actually be doing myself some good. You see, there's a chemical in beer called xanthohumol that researchers now believe helps fight both heart disease and some cancers. I'll drink to that," says Michael.

Dr Peter Rogers has been in the beer research game for many years and is the man who can tell us more about xanthohumol.

"We know, through recent scientific reports, that it has an effect on cancer and it will reduce the tumour formation in small animals. In cell culture it will inhibit and it will kill cancerous cells. So everyone is now very interested in xanthahumol," says Dr Rogers.

The only problem is, the average Aussie beer doesn't contain enough to do you any good. Blokes like Peter are working on it, but as it stands, you'd need to drink 17 pints to get a medically effective dose. Kind of defeats the purpose, unless someone can prove that beer's a diet drink.

Well, hold on to your pint pots! This bloke reckons it is!

Dermot O'Donnell is a master brewer: "I've been drinking beer for 40 years and I'm still relatively trim … in fact, beer has actually got less calories than skim milk and probably only half the calories of wine," says Dermot.

Less calories than skimmed milk? Hope none of our three temporary teetotallers Mick, Warren and Mark, have replaced beer with skinny milkshakes!

Results

Two weeks later, it's judgement day.

The all-important weigh-in and waist measurements are about to begin. It's the same routine as two weeks ago.

Warren:
Weight before: 104kg
Weight after: 107kg

Warren's actually gained three kilos. And not surprisingly, his waist is bigger too.

How's Mark fared? He's the opposite of Warren, he's lost a kilo.
Weight before: 65kg
Weight after: 64kg

He's also shed an amazing nine centimetres worth or beer belly!
Mark's waist before: 95cm
Waist after: 86cm

Now Mick used to drink well over the odds:
Waist before: 114cm
Waist after: 103cm

"Just goes to show you what a couple of weeks off the beer will do for you," says Dr Harry.

Better still, his ample belly has shrunk by an impressive eleven centimetres!

So Mick's lost some belly, Mark's looking sharp, but Wazza's put on weight. Hardly what you'd call definitive is it?

Now it's Michael's turn with the tape measure:
Waist before: 84cm
Waist after: 84cm

So it's pretty much the same.

"So that means, for me and probably for most people, that two glasses is allowed," says Michael.

"Two glasses is maybe even healthy for you — to drink a couple of glasses of beer or wine a night — but no more than that," says Dr Harry. You heard it folks!

Two beers a day will do you good and won't lay waste to your waistline.

So what is it about beer that makes it associated with beer bellies? "Beer tends to be an appetite stimulant so people often eat meat pies and all sorts of other unhealthy foods — rather than eating healthy foods — and the kind of foods you tend to get in the places that sell beer. The kinds of food they sell aren't necessarily the most healthy kinds of foods," says Dr Harry.

And that's a typical night in the pub — couple of beers, bag of chips, some salty nuts — it all adds up. Just don't blame the beer if you pack on some padding!

But you still have to take it easy.

Conclusion

So, recommended beer intake: two beers a day for men, one for women — because excessive consumption can lead to cardiovascular and other health risks. With all that on board, it's time to declare an official end to the beer drought!

So there you have it — in moderation, beer is one of the good things in life we can enjoy and benefit from without a downside.

But remember, no more than two glasses a day for blokes and one for women.

Cheers!

Fast facts

• Now here's a question you might like to ponder next time you're ordering a beer. Which is better for your health? Light coloured beer or dark? Most beers contain significant numbers of nutrients, but as a general rule, the darker the brew the more nutrients it contains.

• Australians, particularly some of our Test cricketers, have always shown great pride in our beer-drinking achievements. But just where do we rank in the world? You may be surprised … in fact, our sporting nation is just out of medal contention. The Czech Republic chug-a-lugs most: 156.9 litres per person each year! Followed by the Guinness guzzling Irish, then Germany with the bronze. We come in fourth, with a respectable 109.9 litres each a year.