People who drink alcoholic beverages on a regular basis may be more likely than teetotalers to exercise -- and the more they drink, the more likely they are to work out, a new study shows.

"A possible motivation is that people who consume alcohol recognize that it contains a fair number of calories, so they exercise to counteract caloric intake," study author Michael T. French, PhD, of the University of Miami, tells WebMD. "Those who drink without misusing it may be interested in balancing their life."

French and fellow researchers analyzed data from the 2005 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, a yearly phone survey of 230,000 Americans, and found a "strong statistical association" between alcohol use and moderate to vigorous exercise.

The study, published in the September-October issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion, reports that:

Compared with abstainers, light drinkers exercised 5.7 more minutes per week, moderate drinkers 10.1 more minutes, and heavy drinkers 19.9 more minutes.

Women drinking alcohol exercised 7.2 more minutes per week than abstainers, and men 5.5 more minutes.

Drinking for both men and women was associated with about a 10% increase in the probability of engaging in vigorous exercise.

Abstainers were people who had not drunk alcohol in the 30 days prior to being surveyed. Drinkers were classified as light, moderate, or heavy drinkers based on the number of alcoholic drinks they had had in the last 30 days:

Light drinkers

Women: 1-14 drinks

Men: 1-29 drinks

Moderate drinkers

Women: 15-45 drinks

Men: 30-75 drinks

Heavy drinkers

Women: 46 or more drinks

Men: 76 or more drinks

"The message here is not to use alcohol to improve your exercise" regimen, French says, adding that health problems associated with heavy drinking outweigh benefits of more exercise. However, he says the study suggests that "responsible" drinking may be beneficial.

一项新的研究显示经常喝酒的人比禁酒者更加喜欢运动，而且喝得越多，他们越喜欢运动。

"一个可能的动机就是那些喝酒的人意识到酒精里面含有大量的热量，他们希望通过运动去消耗摄取的热量。"迈阿密大学的研究学者迈克尔T.弗朗斯PhD告诉网友："喝酒但不过度也许能够调谐他们的生活。"

弗朗斯和他的同伴分析了从2005行为风险因素监视系统获得的数据，在一份230,000位美国人的年度电话调查数据中发现了喝酒与中度运动之间"强有力的统计关联性".

出版在9-10月美国健康促进学报的论文称：与禁酒者相比，轻度饮洒者每周运动量多5.7分钟、中度饮洒者多10.1分钟、重度饮洒者多19.9分钟。

女性饮酒者每周运动多7.2分钟，男性饮酒者多5.5分钟。

男性和女性适度地饮酒都可能增加10%左右的运动量。

禁酒者在接受调查前30天内未喝酒精饮料，饮酒者根据他们过去30天内饮用酒精饮料的份量分为轻度、适度、以及重度饮者：

轻度饮者：

女性： 1-14 杯

男性： 1-29 杯

中度饮者

女性： 15-45 杯

男性： 30-75 杯

重度饮者

女性： 46杯以上

男性： 76杯以上

弗朗斯称并不是想告诉大家通过酒精促进你们的运动。相反，过度饮酒造成的问题远远超过运动带来的好处。然而，他的研究建议"适度地"饮酒也许有利健康。