Is it healthier to be 2 stone overweight or drink half a bottle of wine a day?

[SodYouIllGoOnMyOwn]

Just seeking some views here and it’s a bit controversial so I opted for AIBU. Obviously neither is ideal but from a health perspective, what do you think?

Not unreasonable: Half a bottle of wine is worse.
Unreasonable: 2 stone overweight is worse.

Really interested to hear some views.

Thanks.

Neither. Alcohol is fattening anyway.
It's healthier to be teetotal and vegetarian.

Well no, because excessive alcohol also contributes to cancer.

The overweight thing depends on other factors such as build, muscle - I weighed over 10.5 stone even when I was visibly a skinny size 8/10. Also is that 2 stone from the high end of the "healthy" weight range, or from the middle of it?

I think drinking half a bottle every night routinely is probably an indication that there is something else going on, so whether killing them physically or not it might be an indication that the drinker has things going on emotionally which they haven't processed.

One of my relatives drank and smoked a lot and lived to nearly 90 so I really think it depends, from a physical point of view.

Is this someone who is overweight telling someone who drinks half a bottle a night that they should cut down?

But how far into high BMI at 2 stone overweight is dependent on height. The OP's question is about being 2 stone overweight it doesn't mention BMI.

I would say 1 bottle of wine a day is worse. That’s because of the impact on mental health, poor sleep and your mood. Alcohol rots your mind (not science I know) and is used to self medicate so many issues.

Being 2 stone overweight on the other hand you could be pretty active, eat healthy foods and have a really great life. Be a happy, clear minded individual.

I defo know which I’d pick!

A bottle of wine a day is likely going to cause liver damage quicker than problems from being 2 stone overweight.

I used to be obese for years. I can’t say I feel any healthier since being slim. I still feel tired and sluggish most of the time.

Many members of my family have had cancer and they were all slim. The larger ones haven't had any health problems so far.

Sorry, I read it wrong, she's correct, 2 stone on a taller person = lower BMI

Sorry I read it wrong, apologies!

Neither is great but that this level drinking is probably more likely to cause immediate health problems. Sorry if I'm misreading the tone of the thread but it has the feel of somebody making a strawman argument to justify heavy drinking. This is a symptom of alcohol dependence and I think you should talk to your local drug and alcohol about your drinking. If you're drinking significantly more than the recommended 14 units of alcohol a week, are getting irritable when somebody challenges your drinking or when you can't have a drink, are hiding how much you drink or are getting shaky/unwell without a drink then you have a problem and need to seek help.

Just to add, flipping on its head though somebody's drinking habits aren't an excuse for their loved one/friend not to address their weight. They're separate health problems and they need to be addressed regardless. If this is 2 friends/relatives point scoring then stop it and focuss on optimising your own health because nobody else is going to do it for you

It's true that being a little overweight can protect against osteoporosis, but I'd argue that 2 stone is too much.

Also it depends how you carry the weight. I have a large frame and even when I was overweight, I had a thigh gap. I’m 5”8 and when I go under 9 stone, I look very skinny.

XH was the same, very tall and according to bmi would be considered overweight. However it was down to muscle and he was very lean.

You can eat a very nutritionally healthy diet and still be overweight. Not everyone is eating bacon and sausages every day. Actually, I have a friend who pretty much only eats fast foods/takeaways. She is about a size 6 and 6ft tall. Thin but not healthy. She got breast cancer very young, but has never been overweight in her life. Meanwhile, I’m probably 1-2 stone overweight, eat very little in the way of UPFs, lots of fruit, veg, good quality protein and healthy fats. My diet is certainly much more nutritionally preventative than hers. Almost never eat a sausage or any bacon.

Being a little bit overweight (not morbidly obese) is actually linked to better longevity and long term survival outcomes with many illnesses.

Drinking 50 units of alcohol a week though is not going to be good for anyone. If nothing else, it’s going to screw up your digestive system and gut health is key to everything.

Also, fwiw, 2-3 glasses of wine at home is not half a bottle. 3 250ml glasses (no one has a teeny one at home) is a full bottle of wine. x7 is 70 units a week give or take. That’s an awful lot when the recommendation is no more than 14 units.

If you dtopped drinking half a bottle of wine a day you'd probably lose at least a stone of that two stone anyway, without even trying to do anything else.

Drinking half a bottle a wine every day could creep up and lead to dependancy.
Being two stone overweight would be easy enough to fix in terms of lifestyle changes.
Dependance on alcohol is a different ball game.
If this is some thing where someone has challenged your behaviour in drinking every day and you are trying to discount what they say because they are a bit overweight, you almost certainly have a problem with alcohol.

This is just silly speculation; we can all think of individuals who've smoked every day and lived until the age of 90 in perfect health. So much depends on individual factors, inherited or environmental.

It all depends on build. BMI doesn’t take that into account.

I am two stone overweight, but I eat healthily.
The issue is fitting excercise in.
You can be two stone overwright with a healthy diet.
Drjnking half a bottle of wine every day can lead to other health problems, but red wine also has health benefits.
Both are probably equal in risk but have different issues attached.
I know people that drink daily and excessively but excercise a lot and eat very healthily. They are certainly healthier than me right now.
But who knows, in years to come they could have issues that I am not going to have. But then I could end up with diabetes.
They are so different it is impossible to compare.
My nan smoked 40 a day for probably 40 years and gave up in her 70s, she also didnt excercise apart frkm walking everywhere, lived to 89 and died of age related illnesses, doesnt mean that she lived a healthy lifestyle or that we should copy that lifestyle.
The risks are personal to the individual.
Taking into account family history of diseases, excercise, diet, etc.
There isnt an answer to this question when comparing two peoples lifestyles.

It's a ridiculous AIBU clearly designed to justify alcohol dependency but I'll bite and say it would be better to be 2 stone overweight.

However (!!!) we are tall people in my family and all very into fitness so two stone would be less detrimental to us than say a small sedentary woman.

Stop drinking. It always escalates. You'll feel a lot better once you stop.

You could so Google this.

And as per your OP, you asked from a health perspective, which implies research, not random MNers.

YABU for not having a poll to click.

I am sure the person who is 2 stone overweight isn't living on a daily diet of UPF. But putting alcohol into your body every day will also cause weight gain. But what a weird comparison.

It's an impossible question to answer. Just deal with your own over-drinking / unhealthy diet and stop trying to justify it. So much will depend on an individual's genes, specific lifestyle and other risk factors.

What do you actually mean by "healthier" OP? Living longer? Being free from disability and disease? Being independent in old age?

Plus, being 2 stone overweight is much more significant for a woman who's healthy weight is 7 stone versus a man who's healthy weight is 14 stone.

It's one of those stupid "would you rather" questions - "would you rather be chased by one tiger-sized bee or a hundred bee-sized tigers".

These are the questions people tend to ask when they’re trying to justify being obese or excessive alcohol consumption.

both are unhealthy and the question is absolutely pointless.

I am saying that as somebody who has been working quite diligently on leaving the obese category btw!

Well done! It's a real lifestyle change.
I've had a similar situation but now not entirely tea total - perhaps half a bottle of wine a week.
I'm probably about 2 stone overweight now and I would like to be slimmer, but when I was a size 8 I was unhealthy.
Having children really puts things into perspective.