Yes, I admit to skimming through a magazine that is meant for Jan, “Women’s Health.” If it’s okay for USMC Gunnery Sargeant Highway (Clint Eastwood) in the film “Heartbreak Ridge” then it’s okay for me! Sargeant Highway is reading Bazaar and Femme in this 1986 film, but the knowledge gained about women is the same. I highly recommend this strategy to understanding a woman’s mind, at least a little.
The March 2012 issue of Women’s Health has an article about the connection between exercise and drinking. “A 2009 scientific study of 230,000 men and women found that the more people exercise the more they drink, with the most active women consuming the highest amounts every month.” Hmmm, sounds like …well, no names shall be given out, but you know.
This peaked my curiosity and I located the journal article online, “Do alcohol consumers exercise more”, by Michael French, Sep/Oct 2009, American Journal of Health Promotion. Drinkers of all ages were 10% more likely to engage in vigorous exercise. Female drinkers exercise about 7.2 more minutes per week on average compared to abstainers. When compared to abstainers, light (1-14 drinks a month), moderate (15-45), and heavy drinkers (46+) exercise approximately 5.7, 10.1, and 19.9 minutes more per week. The results for women indicate that drinking is associated with a 10.1% increase in the probability of exercising vigorously! Nearly the same result occurred when looking at males, though men are allowed more to drink (light; 1-29, moderate; 30-75 and heavy; 76+). Which means that Jan shouldn’t get mad anymore if I finish off the bottle of wine, it’s just me being a guy, right?
The conclusions of the study point out that risk-loving individuals are predisposed to choose sensation seeking behavior, such as exercise and drinking. Also, it may be a correlation between physical activity, alcohol and socializing after a sporting event. People who drink more than average may use exercise to compensate for the extra calories gained and are attempting to counter-balance the negative effects of drinking.
All of this has made me want to continue reading Women’s Health, but first, excuse me while I top off my wine glass before Jan comes back to the room.
So do I not exercise because I dont really like drinking? Its both or neither?
ReplyDeleteNo, still exercise, but this study suggests you might not do it for as long a time as a moderate alcohol drinker. Besides, when have you ever conformed to what everyone else does?
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