It only works when you do what I did. I would get up in the morning and drink my breakfast so I could get a buzz on, food just absorbs alcohol, then I would drink all day and not eat anything. Then you just drink until your sick, and pass out from lack of energy. You also need to smoke allot of cigarettes, and still have a high metabolism, carbohydrates if they make you hyperactive keeping you off the couch can help too, but none of this is normal healthy living behavior. Alcohol is expensive too. It's cheaper to just get off your ass, eat right, and find an exercise or walking partner.

The anecdotal evidence I've gathered by observing others suggests that alcoholism is does not improve body composition, and biomarkers of health don't do so well either.

A glass of wine every now and again is fine, but if you regularly drink more you also run the risk of becoming an alcoholic. You'd wreck your liver, not to mention all the secondary ill effects as well as social implications. Alcohol is also expensive.

I reckon a life spent on a dialysis machine must be awful.

Currently there is one really good medicine on the market that has been shown to reduce body fat, reduce risk of CV diseases, to make you healthier, to alleviate cognitive disorders such as depression etc. The list goes on.

This medicine also happens to be completely free, yet not many people make use of it.

It's called exercise; it is and always has been the main driving factor for weight loss. The increasing automation and comfort of today's society discourages physical activity, and it's a real shame.