Alcohol and Weight Management
Alcohol adds calories, lowers restraint and stalls fat burning, so cutting back supports weight loss.
Plain English
Patient-Friendly Explanation
Alcohol contains calories and can slow down weight loss in a few ways: it adds extra calories, lowers your willpower around food, and your body burns alcohol before it burns fat. Cutting back on alcohol is one of the simplest changes you can make to support your weight goals.
Medical
Clinical Definition
Alcohol provides approximately 7 kilocalories per gram, and because ethanol is oxidised preferentially by the liver, its metabolism suppresses fat oxidation while it is present in the body. Alcohol also stimulates appetite, reduces dietary restraint and is often consumed alongside energy-dense foods, contributing to a positive energy balance and weight gain.
Key Insight
Why It Matters
Reducing alcohol is a high-impact, low-effort step that can accelerate your results. As part of your personalised plan at Accord Medical Clinic, we help you identify and remove hidden sources of extra calories such as alcohol.
Sources
Reviewed against standard medical references.
Medically reviewed by
Family Physician & Registered Acupuncturist, Accord Medical Clinic. MBBS (NUS), Graduate Diploma in Family Medicine (NUS), Graduate Diploma in Acupuncture (Singapore College of TCM).
Last reviewed: August 2026
This page is general health education, not medical advice. Whether any treatment is appropriate for you is a decision made in consultation after assessment.
