Although health guidelines state that men and women should stop drinking at 14 units a week -equal to seven medium glasses of wine or pints of beer – the study suggests that exercising mitigates the lethal impact of alcohol even at higher than recommended levels. They studied more than 36,000 middle-aged men and women for an average of almost 10 years and tracked their death rates and causes of death.
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Researchers examined alcohol consumption and exercise among people aged over 40, and compared the results with health surveys dating back to 1994.
An worldwide team of researchers set out to explore the relationship between drinking and exercise because previous research suggests that drinking alcohol and physical activity may share common biological disease pathways, but acting in opposite directions.
Current U.S. guidelines recommend 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week. “However, by not drinking alcohol, 24,000 cancer cases could be avoided”.
A new study is giving a boost to those who enjoy their beer but are anxious about their risk of cancer.
Weekly physical activity was divided into three categories: inactive (less than 7.5 MET/hour), active at the lower end of the recommended scale (more than 7.5 MET/hour), and active at the upper end (more than 15 MET/hour).
However, despite the wide research, the findings can not be proven to be completely accurate as there is no guarantee that the results showing these links is exclusively down to the interaction between exercise and alcohol.
Exercising reduces your chances of dying from health issues associated with drinking alcohol, including cancer. The risk of alcohol-related death from all causes is also reduced. Participants in the surveys were asked about the frequency and type of their alcohol intakes, as well as their physical activity levels. This association applies from even low levels of drinking. Alcohol in large quantities is straight-up harmful to your body in the long term.
The odds of death tied to hazardous drinking were also slashed, the study reported. “The risk of cancer deaths increased as alcohol consumption increased”.
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It found that adults who drink regularly but do an hour’s physical activity a day are no more likely to die than teetotallers. In addition, the researchers didn’t consider other factors, such as diet, that may have an effect on a person’s risk of dying.
