A 55-year-old builder attends for a clinical review. He has a history of gout and hypertension which are both well controlled with ramipril 5 mg once daily and allopurinol 100 mg once daily. He has no history of cardiovascular disease, but both his mother and a maternal uncle developed type 2 diabetes mellitus in their late 60s. He is physically active with his job and enjoys watching his favourite football team play on weekends. He admits that he often drinks about 5 or 6 pints of beer when he watches a big game and will also drink about 10 cans of beer at home during the course of the week. He has gradually put on weight over the last decade and currently weighs 95 kg, bmi 30 kg/m�. His blood pressure is 135/85 mmhg. You organize a series of investigations: total cholesterol 7.0 mmol/l, hdl cholesterol 0.7 mmol/l, triglycerides 2.4 mmol/l, fasting glucose 6.2 mmol/l, hba1c 44 mmol/mol hb. Questions 1. What is the most likely reason for his low hdl cholesterol?