Do you drink more alcohol when you exercise?

• April 19, 2024

People tend to drink more alcohol in the days when they are more physically active, according to a new study published in the magazine Health Psychology .

"From Monday to Wednesday people are contained and reduce the consumption of alcohol . But when the 'social weekend' arrives on Thursday, the physical activity increases and also the consumption of alcohol, "said the study's author, David Conroy, professor of preventive medicine and vice director of the Behavioral and Health Center at Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago .

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The study involved 195 people between 18 and 89 years of age. They recorded their levels of physical activity and their alcohol consumption on their smartphones every day. They did this for 21 days each time in three separate periods over a year, according to the study.

The results showed that people tended to be more active and also to drink more from Thursday to Sunday. But the study did not show that there was a direct link between those two things.

Unlike previous research, the study did not find that active people consumed more alcohol than the inactive ones, say the researchers.

People who exercise more do not drink more in general, "but on days when people are more active, they tend to drink more than on days when they are less active.

"This finding occurred uniformly in the study participants with all levels of physical activity and of all ages, "says Conroy.

More research is needed to learn more about the reasons why people drink more on the days when they are more physically active, according to the researchers.

"Maybe people reward themselves for going out to exercise by drinking more or maybe being more physically active leads them to be in more social situations where alcohol is consumed, we do not know," says Conroy.

"Insufficient physical activity and alcohol consumption are related to many problems, and excessive consumption of alcohol also has many indirect costs.We need to understand how to use physical activity effectively and safely without having the adverse effects of drinking more alcohol" , concludes.

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