Gender-moderated links between urgency, binge drinking, and excessive exercise

ABSTRACT

Objective: Exercise correlates with alcohol use, but the nature of this relation and the extent to which it is maladaptive remains unclear. Urgency and motives for engaging in drinking and exercise might indicate when these behaviors are problematic. The current study examined whether urgency moderated the association between exercise motivated by weight loss and drinking. Participants: College students (N = 589, 45.7% male) completed the study during the spring of 2012. Methods: Participants completed self-report assessment measures, including frequency/quantity of alcohol consumption, exercise for weight loss, and urgency, during a single session. Results: Negative urgency moderated the relation between exercise and alcohol consumption in men but not women; the link between excessive exercise and alcohol use was stronger for men with higher levels of urgency. Conclusions: Further clarification of the mechanisms underlying alcohol use and physical activity—particularly maladaptive approaches to exercise—will inform health interventions among college students.

KEYWORDS:

• Alcohol use
• compensatory exercise
• urgency

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of the United States and received approval from the Institutional Review Board of the University of Albany, SUNY.

Funding

No funding was used to support this research and/or the preparation of the manuscript.