Psychology
Sweat It Out: Examining the Relationship Between Alcohol Consumption and Exercise
Document Type
Poster Presentation
Location
Indianapolis, IN
Subject Area
Psychology
Start Date
11-4-2014 12:00 PM
End Date
11-4-2014 12:59 PM
Sponsor
Rose Marie Ward (Miami University of Ohio)
Description
Drinking is a prevalent public health concern that exists on essentially all college campuses. College students represent the population with the highest percentage of problem drinkers, which can lead to a variety of negative consequences. Drunkorexia is a consequence of drinking characterized by restricting calories and/or excessive exercise prior to drinking (Barry & Piazza-Gardner, 2012). Many college students, especially females, are concerned with their body image (Anding et al., 2001). In attempt to counteract the calories consumed from drinking, students may exercise more than normal (Moore & Werch, 2008). This study targets college students, and the purpose is to examine the relationship between amount of exercise and alcohol consumption and how this relationship differs between males and females. A total of 349 participants from a Midwestern university took an online survey about alcohol and drunkorexia. The participants were 72.8% female, 25.5% male, and predominantly white, with an average age of 20.7 years. The previous literature has found that physical activity is strongly correlated to alcohol consumption, so this study replicates these previous findings (Barry & Piazza-Gardner, 2012). This study furthers the previous literature by examining if the relationship between alcohol consumption and exercise differs across gender. The results indicated that there was a positive correlation between level of alcohol consumption and exercising before drinking as well as exercising more than normal. It was also found that there was a significant difference between alcohol and gender, males typically drink more than females, but no significant difference was found between amount exercise and gender. The findings of this study are important because it can influence college campuses to implement regulations such as students not being allowed to access the gym more than twice per day, and also by putting on a variety of seminars to educate students about the health risks of such behavior that can lead to other serious consequences such as eating disorders or alcoholism.
Sweat It Out: Examining the Relationship Between Alcohol Consumption and Exercise
Indianapolis, IN
Drinking is a prevalent public health concern that exists on essentially all college campuses. College students represent the population with the highest percentage of problem drinkers, which can lead to a variety of negative consequences. Drunkorexia is a consequence of drinking characterized by restricting calories and/or excessive exercise prior to drinking (Barry & Piazza-Gardner, 2012). Many college students, especially females, are concerned with their body image (Anding et al., 2001). In attempt to counteract the calories consumed from drinking, students may exercise more than normal (Moore & Werch, 2008). This study targets college students, and the purpose is to examine the relationship between amount of exercise and alcohol consumption and how this relationship differs between males and females. A total of 349 participants from a Midwestern university took an online survey about alcohol and drunkorexia. The participants were 72.8% female, 25.5% male, and predominantly white, with an average age of 20.7 years. The previous literature has found that physical activity is strongly correlated to alcohol consumption, so this study replicates these previous findings (Barry & Piazza-Gardner, 2012). This study furthers the previous literature by examining if the relationship between alcohol consumption and exercise differs across gender. The results indicated that there was a positive correlation between level of alcohol consumption and exercising before drinking as well as exercising more than normal. It was also found that there was a significant difference between alcohol and gender, males typically drink more than females, but no significant difference was found between amount exercise and gender. The findings of this study are important because it can influence college campuses to implement regulations such as students not being allowed to access the gym more than twice per day, and also by putting on a variety of seminars to educate students about the health risks of such behavior that can lead to other serious consequences such as eating disorders or alcoholism.