Now parents have a new reason to worry about their children drinking alcohol. A new report suggests a direct link between binge drinking and obesity among young people.

A group of researchers from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada recruited high school students from 89 schools to document the quantity and kinds of alcohol they consumed per week.

Consuming four or five alcoholic drinks in one sitting at least once a month was reported by some 39 percent of participants. Eleven percent binge drunk once a week.

From analyzing students' drinking habits, a rough estimate of how much weight might be gained after a year of alcohol drinking. For those who consumed vodka coolers more than once a week, that amounted to an annual calorific equivalent of 57,000 calories or 7.5 kg of body fat every year.

The results also suggested that males should pay particular attention to the warning, as they are likely to consume more than their female counterparts. 

After years of focusing on sugar-filled beverages and snacks, this is the first major study into obesity in young people to consider alcohol consumption as an important calorie contributor.

"There are a million other reasons why people should be focused on youth alcohol control. We simply did this to try to say that everybody focused on youth obesity prevention, maybe you're missing an important contributor," said Scott Leatherdale, professor and researcher in Applied Public Health Research at the University of Waterloo. Leatherdale warned that alcohol may be a key component of youth obesity and should not be overlooked.