Fittest treat themselves to extra tipple because they’ve earned it

PEOPLE who are very fit, healthy and active are more likely to be heavy drinkers because they feel their exercise habits entitle them to an alcoholic reward, researchers have suggested.

Almost 40,000 people aged between 20 and 86 enrolled in a long-running study were analysed by a team of scientists at the Cooper Institute in Dallas.

The average age was 46, but participants ranged from 20 to 86, and each person did a treadmill to examine their cardiorespiratory fitness.

Participants were divided into those with low, moderate and high fitness.

Questionnaires assessed how much alcohol a person consumes a week.

A light drinker consumed fewer than three drinks a week; a moderate male drinker between three and 14. Moderate consumption for a woman was between three and seven glasses. High consumption was more than 14 for men, or more than seven for women.

Analysis of the data, published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, revealed women with moderate fitness levels were 58 per cent more likely to drink heavily than the most unfit. A moderately fit man was 42 per cent more likely to drink heavily.

They also found the most fit women were more than twice as likely as the most unfit to report being a heavy drinker. The fittest men were found to be 63 per cent more likely to be a big drinker than the most unfit males.

The academics suggest the correlation might stem from people who exercise regularly being more inclined to give themselves a reward. However, they add it may also be that the fittest people tend to have addictive personalities and exercise and drinking are symptoms of a core personality trait.

Dr Kerem Shuval, of the Cooper Institute, said it showed the connection between health behaviours was “not always straightforward” and called for doctors to consider the range of behaviour when dealing with patients.