title: Effect of ethanol on energy expenditure.
abstract: The thermogenic response induced by ethanol ingestion in humans has not been extensively studied. This study was designed to determine the thermic effect of ethanol added to a normal diet in healthy nonalcoholic subjects, using indirect calorimetry measurements over a 24-h period in a respiration chamber. The thermic effect of ethanol was also measured when ethanol was ingested in the fasting state, using a ventilated hood system during a 5-h period. Six subjects ingested 95.6 +/- 1.8 (SE) g ethanol in 1 day partitioned over three meals; there was a 5.5 +/- 1.2% increase in 24-h energy expenditure compared with a control day in which all conditions were identical except that no ethanol was consumed. The calculated ethanol-induced thermogenesis (EIT) was 22.5 +/- 4.7% of the ethanol energy ingested. Ingestion of 31.9 +/- 0.6 g ethanol in the fasting state led to a 7.4 +/- 0.6% increase in energy expenditure over baseline values, and the calculated EIT was 17.1 +/- 2.2%. It is concluded that in healthy nonalcoholic adults ethanol elicits a thermogenic response equal to approximately 20% of the ethanol energy. Thus the concept of the apparently inefficient utilization of ethanol energy is supported by these results which show that only approximately 80% of the ethanol energy is used as metabolizable energy for biochemical processes in healthy nonalcoholic moderate ethanol consumers.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physiology, University of Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Suter
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Jéquier
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Schutz
mesh_terms: D000085:Acetates / Q000097:blood; D000328:Adult; D001833:Body Temperature Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D002153:Calorimetry, Indirect; D004734:Energy Metabolism / Q000187:drug effects*; D000431:Ethanol / Q000097:blood / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005230:Fatty Acids, Nonesterified / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009994:Osmolar Concentration
chemical_list: D000085:Acetates; D005230:Fatty Acids, Nonesterified; D000431:Ethanol