Binge Drinkers Try to Sweat Off Alcohol

Binge Drinkers Try to Sweat Off Alcohol
December 4, 2009

News Summary

Many binge drinkers turn to exercise to compensate for the physical toll of overconsumption, but experts warn that some alcohol-related damage can't be undone at the gym.

AFP reported Nov. 27 that researchers in the U.K. found that 28 percent of binge drinkers reported that they used exercise to try to shed alcohol-related pounds; many said guilt over a night of partying led them to the gym or pool the next day.

Among moderate drinkers, 19 percent said that they sometimes worked out after going out drinking.

"Everyone knows that regularly taking part in physical activity is important for maintaining good health," said U.K. public health minister Gillian Merron. "But the truth is, if you have a big night at the pub, you're not going to compensate with a workout the following day. Damage from regularly drinking too much can slowly creep up and you won't see it until it's too late."

The survey was conducted for the British government's Know Your Limits campaign.

COMMENTS ON THIS ARTICLE:

Posted by Pete on 07 Dec 09 12:20 PM EST

Ha, I didn't know binge drinkers did this. It doesn't make much sense from a physiology standpoint. The liver works very hard to process alcohol, and you then place further demands on it to burn fat and convert glycogen with the exercise. If you train really hard, you're also creating inflammatory cytokines and muscle breakdown products. When hungover, you're also likely to be dehyrdrated - not the best state to be in when exercising. Either stick to exercise and forget the drinking, or at least let your body recuperate somewhat from your night of dissolution before you put further demands on your body the very next day.

Posted by Brinna Nanda on 07 Dec 09 10:08 PM EST

They would have been better off smoking cannabis: Researchers from the University of California, San Diego, used high-tech scans to compare microscopic changes in brain white matter in teens aged 16 to 19 who were divided into three groups: binge drinkers (boys who consume five or more drinks at one sitting, and girls who have four or more drinks); binge drinkers who also smoked marijuana; and a control group with little or no experience with either alcohol or drugs. As expected, the binge drinkers showed signs of white matter damage in all eight brain regions examined by the researchers. But the binge drinkers/marijuana users had less damage in seven out of the eight brain regions than the binge drinkers did. And compared to the control group, the binge drinkers/marijuana users had more white matter damage in only three regions.

Posted by Pete on 08 Dec 09 11:31 AM EST

I think Brinna Nanda missed my point. My point was to REPLACE unhealthy habits with healthier ones rather than trying to "undo" the damage. Even if cannabis is the miracle drug that its proponents would have us believe, I don't see how inhaling the smoke and ash from ANY burning plant material is going to be good for your longterm health. Why do you think the body's natural instinct upon inhaling a lungful of smoke for the first time - even "healthy" marijuana smoke - is to cough and gag?

Outlaw Alcohol Sports Sponsorships, Researchers Say

Oral Cancer Tied to U.K. Binge Drinking Plague

Binge Drinking, Not Necessarily Beer, Expands Waistlines, Study Finds

Screening and Brief Intervention: Making a Public Health Difference

Global Alcohol Database