Fitness Brief

     From freshman year to graduation, many college students are left baffled by  what began as a once trim and fit body that has acquired the seemingly unavoidable friend known only as the infamous, beer belly.    
    Typical college students agree that personal health and well-being are important to them, and that to achieve this would include exercise and a somewhat healthy diet.        Except for that six-pack yesterday, and the keg-party the Thursday night before. You know the drill.
    Be warned. The excess consumption of alcohol in one’s diet can hamper fitness goals, and hide those seemingly hard earned abs.
    A common misconception about alcohol consumption is that weight gain is caused by the sheer amount of calories in alcoholic beverages, but studies show otherwise. 
    According to one study released by the University of Lausanne, in Switzerland, alcohol consumption inhibits the body’s ability to burn calories.
    Paolo Suter, one of the Lausanne’s interns who conducted the study, found that alcohol most likely slows down the body’s fat metabolism because the liver, which normally burns fat, is too busy processing the booze, thus inhibiting it to burn any fat for energy.     
    For individuals who train themselves more seriously, excess alcohol in one’s diet disrupts proper sleeping patterns, causes dehydration, and can increase fatigue.  All of these are of no benefit to the body and hampers those physical goals that have been set for the school year.
     Marka Smith, a junior Biology major at GCSU, felt that excess alcohol was affecting his ability to maintain good physical health.
    “You can feel the difference. If you drink a lot, you sweat sooner and more profusely.  You feel fatigued quickly.             “Freshman year I drank all the time and when I worked out I had no energy,” Smith said. “I have cut back since freshman year and there is a noticeable difference. I feel better, and I have more energy. I’m happy with the decision to drink less.”

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Sep 8 2006. Filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry