There is no such thing as a "beer belly", according to scientists.

Researchers in Britain and the Czech Republic surveyed almost 2,000 Czechs, who are generally regarded as the world's biggest beer drinkers.

They found no link between the amount of beer they drink and the size of their stomachs.

Writing in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, they said claims people are obese because they drink too much beer are wrong.

The survey showed the men consumed on average 3.1 litres of beer each week with women drinking on average 0.3 litres per week.

There were few heavy drinkers. Just 3% of men drank more than 14 litres of beer in a week and just five women regularly consumed more than 7 litres in a week.

The scientists found no link between beer consumption and obesity.

They said the findings suggested there is no truth in the claim that drinking too much beer makes people obese.

"There is a common notion that beer drinkers are, on average, more 'obese' than either non-drinkers or drinkers of wine or spirits," the researchers said.

"This is reflected, for example, by the expression 'beer belly'.

"If this is so, then beer intake should be associated with some general measure of obesity, such as body mass index or with indices of fat distribution such as waist to hip ratio or with both."

But they said: "The association between beer and obesity if it exists is probably weak."

A study published earlier this year suggested some people are genetically predisposed to develop beer bellies.

Italian researchers said men with a certain gene variation have a tendency to get a flabby stomach.

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