Or so some British scientists would argue. According to a study published in the current issue of the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, fat from excessive beer drinking is not necessarily stored around the body’s core. Researchers followed 20,000 beer drinkers—7.876 men and 12,749 women—over 8.5 years. Not surprisingly, men drank more beer, an average of more than two pints a day. They also put on the most weight, but it was distributed around the body rather than just slopping over their belt buckles. Interestingly, of all categories of men, those that piled on the greatest number of pounds included those who drank the most and those who drank nothing at all. Weight gain among women appeared to be more directly correlated to their beer consumption, but again, their excess pounds were concentrated around their waists and hips, not necessarily leading to beer bellies. The take away? Beer drinking doesn’t necessarily give you an unsightly, distended stomach, but, depending on how much you imbibe, it does make you fat.