Does Exercising Increase Your Drive To Get Crunk'd?

The fad diets and exercise routines have greeted the new year with guns ablazin', but for those looking to mix a healthy lifestyle with partying in 2011, could your gym habits be at odds with your bar escapades?

The New York Times Well blog addresses the issue in a post that takes a glances at a study focused on rats. Half of the rats in the study were able to run on wheels for three weeks and the other half were not; next half of the rats from each group were given unlimited access to alcohol, and the study showed that rats that had exercised had a significantly higher propensity to drink than the sedentary rodents.

Another study cited from the University of Miami indicates that alcohol consumers tend to exercise more (perhaps to work off that beer belly). The findings point to a 10.1 % increase in the probability of vigorous exercising if the person is a drinker.

Part of the explanation, the Times points out, stems from the fact that exercising and drinking are both "rewarding" activities as processed in our brains; bereft of one form of reward, we process the need for another.

So if you've upped your workout routine this year, please enjoy the Dionysian delights that will no doubt come coupled with your revamped physical fitness regimen.

[Image via askSam]