why does alcohol get metabolized to fat instead of converted directly to energy (ATP)?

Question

essentially, is it because there is a lot of NADH being produce so it increases the process of fatty acid synthesis and decrease in fatty acid oxidation?

Answer 1

Well, the NADH produced by alcohol metabolism can fuel oxidative phosphorylation, but also causes negative feedback in other pathways

In a model organ for this biochemical problem, such as the liver, what occurs is that the citric acid cycle halts due to negative feedback from the large amount of NADH produced from alcohol's metabolism. Alcohol metabolism results in acetate as a final product, which could be used in the liver for energy production as part of the citric acid cycle, but also as part of ketone generation, which is more likely given that the citric acid cycle is likely halted in this scenario and ketone genesis is not. In another regard, given that the citric acid cycle has been halted, any excess earlier products in the citric acid cycle can be shunted towards production of fatty acids, and subsequent triglycerides as well. Hope this helped!