Beer or Ethanol Effects on the Body Composition Response to High-Intensity Interval Training. The BEER-HIIT Study

Abstract

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is promoted as a time-efficient strategy to improve body composition but concomitant beer intake, which is common among physically active individuals, may interfere with these effects. The primary aim of this study is to determine the effects of a 10-week (2 days/week) HIIT program on anthropometric and body composition measurements, and to assess whether those effects are influenced by the moderate consumption of beer (at least 5 days/week), or its alcohol equivalent. Young (24 ± 6 years old) healthy adults (n = 72, 35 females) volunteered for a non-training group (Non-Training group) or for HIIT training. Those going for training choose whether they preferred to receive alcohol or not. Those choosing alcohol were randomly allocated for receiving beer (5.4%; T-Beer group) or the equivalent amount of alcohol (vodka; T-Ethanol group) in sparkling water. Those choosing no-alcohol were randomly allocated for receiving alcohol-free beer (0.0%; T-0.0Beer group) or sparkling water (T-Water group). From Monday through Friday, men ingested 330 mL of the beverage with lunch and 330 mL with dinner; women ingested 330 mL with dinner. Before and after the intervention, anthropometry and body composition, through dual-emission X-ray absorptiometry, were measured. No changes in body mass, waist circumference, waist/hip ratio, visceral adipose tissue or bone mineral density occurred in any of the groups. By contrast, in all the training groups, significant decreases in fat mass together with increases in lean mass (all p < 0.05) occurred. These positive effects were not influenced by the regular intake of beer or alcohol. In conclusion, a moderate beer intake does not blunt the positive effect of 10-week HIIT on body composition in young healthy adults.

Influence of daily beer or ethanol consumption on physical fitness in response to a high-intensity interval training program. The BEER-HIIT study

“…However, some authors found that low doses of alcohol ingested after strenuous damaging exercise had no impact on the exercise-induced muscle-damage losses in muscular performance [61], also that alcohol could have little or no effect on the resynthesis of muscle glycogen after exercise in male athletes [28]. Further, our previous results showed that a daily consumption of moderate amounts of beer or alcohol did not impair the gain of lean mass after a 10-week HIIT intervention [62]. Interestingly, the T-Beer, the T-0.0Beer and the T-Water women groups showed improvements with no statistical significance in SJ, Abalakov, and DJ, while the T-Ethanol group showed a decrease in all of them, although with no statistical significance.…”

Effects of the Non-Alcoholic Fraction of Beer on Abdominal Fat, Osteoporosis, and Body Hydration in Women

“…In a study focused on the effects of a moderate beer intake on the body composition of healthy adults undergoing a high-intensity interval training, the group consuming alcohol-free beer experienced a significant decrease in visceral adipose tissue and WC, and a clear decreasing trend in the WHR. The other groups (consuming beer or water supplemented with vodka ethanol) did not show any changes in these variables [ 56 ].…”

Got Beer? A Systematic Review of Beer and Exercise

“…Four studies used chronic protocols (Table 4). Two of these reported different outcomes from a 10-week experiment that recruited men and women who were previously untrained (Molina-Hidalgo et al, 2019;Molina-Hidalgo et al, 2020). Scherr et al (2012) enrolled runners training for a marathon, while the fourth study recruited sedentary men (Cox et al, 1993).…”

“…Scherr et al (2012) enrolled runners training for a marathon, while the fourth study recruited sedentary men (Cox et al, 1993). In terms of sex, the Molina-Hidalgo et al (2019 studies reported an almost identical proportion of males and females (∼52% vs. 48%), with the remaining studies consisting of men. The mean/median ages ranged from 24 to 44 years.…”

“…The exercise components varied and included cycling (Cox et al, 1993), running (Scherr et al, 2012), andHIIT (Molina-Hidalgo et al, 2019;Molina-Hidalgo et al, 2020). The frequency of exercise ranged from two to three times/week (Cox et al, 1993;Molina-Hidalgo et al, 2019;Molina-Hidalgo et al, 2020), with one exception being Scherr et al (2012), who did not incorporate a new exercise intervention, but enrolled runners preparing for the Munich Marathon. In terms of intensity, two involved HIIT (Molina-Hidalgo et al, 2019;Molina-Hidalgo et al, 2020), one study prescribed continuous exercise at low and moderate loads (Cox et al, 1993), and one allowed participants to self-select the intensity (Scherr et al, 2012).…”