The Benefits of Exercise May Neutralize the Unhealthy Effects of Alcohol

The benefits of exercise are numerous. Regular physical activity helps regulate body weight, blood pressure and cholesterol levels, but new research shows that exercise may even offset the effects of alcohol.

Eight British population-based surveys suggest that exercise could “erase” the link between heavy drinking and the risk of dying of cancer. Kadija Perreault, PhD, from the University of Montreal in Quebec, Canada, and colleagues reported their findings in an article published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

The Alcohol-Exercise Connection

Perreault’s study is the first study of its kind to analyze whether there is a connection between the benefits of exercise and the increased death risk associated with alcohol. However, this is not the first study of its kind to suggest that alcohol consumption and exercise act as opposing forces on chronic disease:

1.  In a previous study, heavy drinking increased death risk from 31 percent to 54 percent.
2. A recent report strongly linked alcohol to multiple types of cancer.
3. Multiple studies suggested that high levels of physical activity, conversely, have been linked to a significantly reduced risk for breast and colon cancer.

Perreault and colleagues used data from 36,370 adults aged 40 and older. Of the full study population, 4,845 individuals drank more than the recommended weekly alcohol limit and were thus suitable for an analysis of the effect that exercise has on alcohol. Among this subgroup of heavy drinkers:

• 27.5 percent reported no physical activity
• 39 percent achieved at least 150 minutes of moderate to intense physical activity per week
• 23 percent reported exercising more than 150 minutes per week

Conclusion

The writers found that occasional drinking appeared to help protect against deaths from all causes and heart disease deaths among adults who got the recommended amount of exercise. Although more research needs to be done, this study emphasizes that exercise can play a significant role in health, even when doing unhealthy activities like drinking too much alcohol.