Wine and Weight - A new study following middle-aged women found those who occasionally drink alcohol gained less weight and were less likely to become obese than were non-drinkers. Doctors from the Harvard School of Public Health tracked weight gain and alcohol use in more than 19,000 middle-aged women and found that women who drank the equivalent of 1-2 glasses of wine per day were less likely to become overweight or obese than those who abstained from alcohol. Of course, experts do not recommend drinking alcohol as a weight-loss strategy.