Alcohol is a source of 'empty calories', meaning it has no nutritive value other than providing energy. Although most alcoholic drinks contain sugars and traces of vitamins and minerals, it's not usually in amounts that make any significant contribution to the diet. People who are overweight actually gain weight more easily when they drink alcohol and calories from alcohol tend to be stored in the gut. If you want six-pack abs, you'll need to cut down on the booze.

So what's the damage?
Although alcohol itself doesn't contain fat, it is packed with calories. And when you add in mixers - juice, sugar and other ingredients - the calories really can add up.

Beer: Non-alcoholic beer actually has the same calories as alcoholic beer: 148 calories in a pint. If you drink a light beer - like Bud Light - you'll only take in around 99 calories per pint.

Wine: Dry wine contains fewer calories than sweeter wine. For example, a glass of dry wine has about 106 calories and a glass of sweet dessert wine has a whopping 226 calories. If you drink a glass of wine before dinner, another glass with dinner and a sweet wine for dessert, you've added more than 400 calories to your meal.