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Boozing adds INCHES to your waistline

For any ladies despairing over those stubborn scales, we have some information that might be of interest to you.

New studies have revealed that binge drinking can add a whopping FOUR INCHES to your waistline - and if that doesn't leave you weeping into your bottle of Pinot we don't know what will!

We know it's not fair, but that amounts to double of what equally binge-happy men gain in comparison, because us ladies are generally smaller and there’s less of our bodies available to absorb booze.

The price we pay for our feminine figures is that we have less fluid in our body to dilute the alcohol, causing a build up of fat. So when we’re out on a Saturday night, all that tipple we just can’t physically absorb gets turned into abdominal fat - the stuff that clings to the waist and hip area - aka “muffin tops.” Delightful!

The average large glass of wine clocks in at a shocking about 200 calories. At 7 calories per gram, alcohol is stuffed with more calories than many foods. No wonder we’re suffering at the hands of the hard stuff!

So what are the guidelines for those of you working hard to banish the pounds?

Well, binge drinking in the UK is defined as five drinks or more consumed on one occasion - with a drink, or unit, being a small glass of wine, half a pint of beer or a pub measure of spirits.

Anything over that is not doing you any favours.

The health conscious among you probably know anyway that alcohol greatly increases your risk of breast cancer and heart disease, So it’s good to watch your intake whether or not your cutting down to lose weight.

The snapshot study at University College London monitored alcohol effects on 30,000 people. Results showed that men developed waists that were on average 6cm (2in) bigger than people who did not binge drink. Women gained almost twice as much, around 10cm (4in) compared with non-binge drinkers.

Hands up who’s going to be thinking twice before they break open the bubbly?

By Leanne Rice