Scientists aren’t sure why but research shows that people who drink more are more likely to exercise longer and more intensely.
“Drinking is associated with a 10.1 percentage point increase in the probability of exercising vigorously,” said the study published in The American Journal of Health Promotion. “Heavy drinkers exercise about 10 more minutes per week than current moderate drinkers and about 20 more minutes per week than current abstainers.” Furthermore, “an extra episode of binge drinking increases the number of minutes of total and vigorous physical activity per week for both women and men.”
Scientists theorized that perhaps people who drink more exercise more to burn off the calories, that heavy-drinkers and heavy-exercises are drawn to a “sensation-taking lifestyle,” or, that both exercise and drinking stimulate similar reward systems in the brain.
Whatever the case may be, the next time someone gets on your case about having a drink you can say, “Hey, I’m just trying to stick my New Year’s resolution to get in shape, man.”
Do alcohol consumers exercise more? (abstract) [American Journal of Health Promotion]
Phys Ed: Does Exercising Make You Drink More Alcohol? [NYT]
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They’re drunk. Alcohol’s a depressant. It takes them longer to realize how much exercise sucks.
/I’ll show myself out.
Exercise actually makes you feel good, it causes your body to release endorphins.
Exercise has never, ever made me feel good. Ever. It has always sucked, forever and ever, amen.
thats what fat people say…
And people who aren’t drunk!
Hey! Who let you back in?!?
I find that it does make me feel good, but not while I am doing it. Maybe an hour later. Maybe a month. I’ll keep telling myself that.
What about “people who get into relationships stop trolling bars and no longer bother trying to look good”?
This. It has been proven that people gain more weight in relationships.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/05/health/05weight.html
of course, they get comfortable and dont need to try as hard at their appearance
People who are younger both tend to binge drink more and exercise more? There are hundred of explanations which would need to be tested to find anything of scientific value.
OTOH, marketing to this correlation in 3…2…1…
Well, without reading the study, I don’t know what types of things they controlled for, but yes.
Just like a survery you can get a study to say anything you want. I’d like to see further study because all the places I’ve worked the drinkers didn’t do squat because in their free time they’d all head to the bar.
For my own part- I find that heavy drinking puts me in a position where I’ve been so “under” (as in, affected by the depressive effects of alcohol) that once I come out through to the other side, I start itching to go do things. Also, experienced drinkers, and the people who tend to become experienced drinkers are less susceptible to hangovers.
I just popped in here to say what the hell is going on in that picture?
I took a double look & am now wondering the same. I’ve never seen anyone be spotted in such a manner.
Whoa. How’d I miss that?
Gym porn? The shirtless guy straddling the guy on the bench has his face scrunched up like something hurts, but doesn’t appear to be lifting anything…
we all know why he’s hurting.
And whats the guy sitting on the bench in jeans doing with his hands?
He’s not holding anything…maybe he sat on something?
Maybe its just that the heavy drinker are more social since they are probably out more and are more image conscience so they spend the extra time in the gym.
i totally agree.
Exactly. If you enjoy drinking as a social activity, looking good to potential partners goes hand in hand because most people meet potential partners through social activities.
Or they are all guidos that live on the Jersey Shore and their day consists of laundry, gym, bar.
It’s Gym, Tan, Laundry. Get it right.
Wait, I thought their moms took care of their laundry.
This was my first thought, too.
No, no it doesn’t.
I think that their causal relationship is flawed.
Single men drink more than married men.
Single men exercise more than married men.
I think the relationship is single versus married and not alcoholics vs alcoholics for exercise.
Also after a good hour of exercise I want a drink.
Its because some people are just more extreme than other… SOMOS EXTREMOS!
Work – reward relationship?
There are recent studies that show drinking wine improves one’s health. But one possible explanation offered by researchers is that the wealthy tend to drink wine more than other alcohols, and that they tend to drink more frequently (versus the poor who don’t drink the prescribed one glass a day, instead combing all their allotted drinks into one night a week, twice).
Similarly, it’s possible that because the wealthy tend to drink more, than the wealthy are able to, and care more about, their outward appearance.
Sorry, to clarify regarding the wine study: The wealthy, who drink more wine, also have more money to afford good health care. The researchers suggested that wine = health could be a false correllary.
Just what I was thinking. People that drink wine tend to also have nice jobs and nice healthcare.
Thank you. The problem with behavioral research (and I know, that was my field for a while) is that correlation ≠ causality…but that usually doesn’t stop researchers from providing their opinions right alongside their data analysis.
When you’re in good shape you can make that early morning “walk of shame” a quick sprint.
Correlation != Causality.
In a study of buggy drivers in rural Pennsylvania, it was discovered that most buggy drivers were wearing black. Therefore, driving a buggy makes you wear black. Scientists have theorized that this is so that the drivers’ outfits will match the buggies.
It has nothing to do with them being Amish.
I’m not sure about this study. When I didn’t exercise I drank heavily. Now that I do Crossfit 4-5 times a week, I still drink, but not nearly as much nor as often. The only difference is I don’t feel as guilty about it.
I do seem to get the same relaxation feeling out of heavy exercise that I do from drinking.
I remember back when I was about 20 and drinking 40 to 50 beers a week or so because I was at the bar four nights a week and at the bar that was in the student union building at college when I had a break between classes not exercising at all. Maybe it was because I was too busy running around and working three jobs when I wasn’t attending classes and didn’t need to burn off those extra calories.
Repeat after me, “Correlation does not imply causation.” Abstract of the paper says: “Our results strongly suggest that alcohol consumption and physical activity are positively correlated. The association persists at heavy drinking levels.” This does *NOT* mean “Drinking makes you exercise more”.
If I can beat my hangover to the gym on Saturdays and Sundays, I usually get a really, really good workout in. It is extremely odd.
I must exercise the most!
Is this about drinking alcohol, or just fluid intake? The article never specifies.
Um, if you’d actually RTFA, no wait… if you’d even read the *title* of TFA you’d see it was about alcohol. I’m not one to tell people to RTFA, but jesus, it was even in the title.
they really studied this. what a waste of time.
The only reason I ever drank hard and regularly was social pressure from people I was living with. The only reason I ever exercised hard and consistently was social pressure from people I was living with.
Hmm.
So what can I talk you into?
So all those bottles in my spin class aren’t filled with water?
Work hard, play hard…
Well, you’ll workout longer and harder after a drink, assuming you aren’t such a lightweight that one drink renders you tipsy. And after that long hard workout you could sure use a beer.
This TOTALLY explains Guidos!
Correlation is not causation. Drinking does not *make* you exercise.
Of course not, but working in journalism makes you write sensationalist headlines.
Exercising More Makes You Drink More
People I know who hit the gym a lot TEND TO drink a ton, but that doesn’t prove causality!
That study is flawed. Heavy drinkers do not exercise more than anyone else. As a former heavy drinker, I can tell you that most heavy drinkers talk far more about what they do than actually doing anything. Ask a heavy drinker something about themselves and nine times out of 10 he or she will exaggerate about it. That is a symptom of alcoholism – exaggeration about the things you do to compensate for the fact that you are not doing anything but drinking.
That’s funny. The first gym membership I ever signed up with was after I’d had about five beers. I really wanted to start a fitness regimin and so I went down the road to the 24 hour fitness and signed up right away and got on the treadmill
None of the cited material supports the claim “Drinking More Makes You Exercise More”. In fact, the study on mice actually suggested excercise makes you drink more.
How does a site that is devoted to nitpicking corporations misleading advertising and product claims post a headline like this?
Not the correlation that most people want us to make, but it is an interesting finding. I assume that those that drink heavily live under the mantra: “Work Hard, Play Hard.”
Why do we have beer belly then?
College kids binge drink a lot and they also work out a lot, does this seem like it might be affecting the study in any way?