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grimrs
Stranger
Registered: 11/29/09
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Young athletes use fewer drugs, but more alcohol
#14537054 - 05/30/11 06:07 PM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/30/us-young-athletes-alcohol-idUSTRE74T3WA20110530
Reuters Health) - Teens who exercise and play team sports are less likely to be smokers or use marijuana and other drugs, according to a new study.
However, the results also showed that high school students on athletic teams drank more alcohol than their peers.
While the findings don't prove cause and effect, they could have important implications for preventing drug and alcohol abuse in young adults, the authors write in the journal Addiction.
Promoting exercise in young people and making sure that student athletes are targeted for alcohol prevention, for instance, would be important first steps in addressing the issue, said Yvonne Terry-McElrath, one of the study's authors from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Still, she cautioned that the links found in the study "were not staggeringly large," and that encouraging exercise is "certainly not a cure for anything."
The researchers used data from a study sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse that followed high school seniors through young adulthood with regular surveys.
Those surveys asked about recent use of alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs, as well as participation in athletics and general exercise.
The current report included data on close to 12,000 students, about half of whom filled out follow-up surveys until they were 25 or 26 years old.
At the first survey, students had drunk alcohol between one and five times, on average, in the previous month and smoked marijuana between zero and two times. The average senior smoked cigarettes not at all or less than one per day. About nine percent of students had used other illicit drugs in the previous month.
Students who participated in team sports or general exercise more often were less likely to use cigarettes, marijuana, and other illicit drugs as seniors. And those that upped their physical activity over the next few years also reported smoking and using drugs less often as time went on.
About 38 percent of teens who didn't exercise reported smoking cigarettes at some point in the past month, and 23 percent had smoked marijuana. That compared to 25 to 29 percent of frequent exercisers and athletes who had smoked cigarettes and 15 to 17 percent who smoked marijuana.
Being involved in team sports meant teens were more likely to drink frequently -- but that didn't extend to people who exercised, though not as part of a team.
About 45 percent of non-exercisers said they had drunk alcohol in the last month, which rose to 57 percent in those who regularly played a team sport.
In general, the authors also note, high school seniors who reported drinking more at the first survey were also the heavier drinkers throughout young adulthood.
It's not the first time a study has linked participation in team sports to drinking -- although it's not necessarily the case that playing sports causes a teen to drink more. Terry-McElrath said there are still many theories as to why these athletes tend to drink more than others.
Drinking may be an important social activity on some teams, and there may be peer pressure to drink in post-game environments. And, sports are closely tied to the alcohol industry -- just consider all the beer advertisements during the Super Bowl, she said.
Especially in more competitive athletes, "their competitive spirit on the athletic field may translate over into drinking behaviors as well," said Darren Mays, a researcher at Georgetown University Medical Center who has studied alcohol use in adolescent athletes.
Or it could be related to stress, said Mays, who did not participate in the new research.
"These are young people who are typically under pressure to perform athletically and academically (and) drinking might be a coping mechanism," he told Reuters Health.
Young athletes should be sent the message that "being a competitor and being at the top of your game does not have to mean high alcohol consumption," Terry-McElrath said -- and high school coaches should be educated about this issue as well, she added.
Nadra Lisha, a graduate student at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California who has also studied this association, said that people who exercise a lot and those that use alcohol might be so-called sensation-seekers who get a thrill from both activities.
"Drinking might not be as detrimental to their life, whereas smoking something -- it would be much harder to exercise the next day," Lisha, who was not involved in the current study, told Reuters Health.
Terry-McElrath agreed. "Individuals who tend to be high drug-users often can't keep up in a really competitive environment," she said. Also, they're likely to get kicked off of teams that do drug testing, she added.
She said the results can be seen as "encouraging" for the possibility of both treating and preventing drug use in young people.
"If we can encourage an enjoyment in general exercise, we may be able to see a lowering of participation in drug use," she said. "It's at least a starting point."
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Mush 4 Brains
about tree fiddy


Registered: 12/19/07
Posts: 8,298
Loc: Tacos
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Re: Young athletes use fewer drugs, but more alcohol [Re: grimrs]
#14537116 - 05/30/11 06:20 PM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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This just in- EVERYBODY DRINKS ALCOHOL
athletes work hard/ play hard
Edited by Mush 4 Brains (05/30/11 06:34 PM)
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McTwist
Stoned Stranger


Registered: 01/22/07
Posts: 1,969
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Re: Young athletes use fewer drugs, but more alcohol [Re: Mush 4 Brains]
#14537383 - 05/30/11 07:21 PM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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So all young people do drugs
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MilkdudTitties
My Nipples Look Like Milk Duds



Registered: 03/22/09
Posts: 3,796
Loc: USA
Last seen: 7 years, 5 months
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Re: Young athletes use fewer drugs, but more alcohol [Re: Mush 4 Brains]
#14537454 - 05/30/11 07:38 PM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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Maybe its because most athletes get drug tested.
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wildchild68
lion in a coma



Registered: 11/19/07
Posts: 5,115
Last seen: 9 years, 9 months
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Re: Young athletes use fewer drugs, but more alcohol [Re: grimrs]
#14537670 - 05/30/11 08:20 PM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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wow, what an incredibly stupid study.
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Toe_Jam
Bluefoot Bandit



Registered: 04/15/10
Posts: 3,693
Loc: Around some corner...
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Re: Young athletes use fewer drugs, but more alcohol [Re: wildchild68]
#14538049 - 05/30/11 09:34 PM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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I think it's idea that teens who play sports prefer alcohol (and even take it to excess) over any other substance is true though. It is socially acceptable in their subculture whereas other drugs come with this HUGE stigma. It was impossible to explain to cheerleaders/football players how alcohol was actually much worse than marijuana when it comes to toxicity as well as how a person acts under the influence. Not to mention alcohol is physically addictive. But I guess the stigma that comes w/ pot was worse to them, so they wouldn't even entertain the idea. Talk about blind faith.
-------------------- God lay his finger at the Mouth of the Serpent March 1984   A pleasing land of drowsy head it was, Of dreams that wave before the half-shut eye, And of gay castles in the clouds that pass, For ever flushing round a summer sky. -Castle of Indolence
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Invisible_Woe


Registered: 05/25/07
Posts: 11,707
Loc: Mabase
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Re: Young athletes use fewer drugs, but more alcohol [Re: Toe_Jam] 1
#14538579 - 05/30/11 11:30 PM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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alcohol = drug ... theory invalid
-------------------- These are not the answers you should be questioning.
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guest1
Mycena




Registered: 05/25/09
Posts: 852
Last seen: 1 year, 2 months
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Re: Young athletes use fewer drugs, but more alcohol [Re: Invisible_Woe]
#14538659 - 05/30/11 11:52 PM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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"Parents alarmed by 'legal' high drugs" "Young athletes use fewer drugs, but more alcohol"
Just say no to being happy! Euphoria is BAD for you, be sad and depressed and sober and hate your life, then go to a doctor and buy all these prescription pills...
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Syntheticbreakfast

Registered: 09/19/10
Posts: 27
Loc: Canada
Last seen: 11 years, 7 months
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Re: Young athletes use fewer drugs, but more alcohol [Re: grimrs]
#14538724 - 05/31/11 12:09 AM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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Quote:
alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs,
drugs, drugs, and drugs
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Invisible_Woe


Registered: 05/25/07
Posts: 11,707
Loc: Mabase
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Quote:
guest1 said: "Parents alarmed by 'legal' high drugs" "Young athletes use fewer drugs, but more alcohol"
Just say no to being happy! Euphoria is BAD for you, be sad and depressed and sober and hate your life, then go to a doctor and buy all these prescription pills...
Quote:
Syntheticbreakfast said:
Quote:
alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs,
drugs, drugs, and drugs
what about a party?
-------------------- These are not the answers you should be questioning.
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MidRange
Stranger
Registered: 01/10/11
Posts: 296
Last seen: 9 years, 3 days
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Re: Young athletes use fewer drugs, but more alcohol [Re: Invisible_Woe]
#14539717 - 05/31/11 08:07 AM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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I'll bring the chips.
-------------------- "Sacrifice is the Christian way of life. Theft is the Socialist way of achieving all ends. Together they represent an awesome evil for this nation to confront." Marc Emery. People who receive medical cannabis trough the federal government.
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the human abstract
malaka the werewolf



Registered: 11/30/09
Posts: 8,817
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Re: Young athletes use fewer drugs, but more alcohol [Re: MidRange]
#14539731 - 05/31/11 08:14 AM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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in my school the whole football team was smoking pot pretty much.
my coach came up to me one thursday and said i know what going on you guys need to stop it. he lived next to me and drove past my house and saw like every football players car parked outside. LOL we had a loosing season
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digitalemu
Digital Emu

Registered: 09/01/10
Posts: 302
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This just in...... Humans eat food.....
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LSDylan
bass music enjoyer



Registered: 05/26/10
Posts: 4,992
Loc: Michigan
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Re: Young athletes use fewer drugs, but more alcohol [Re: digitalemu]
#14539951 - 05/31/11 09:47 AM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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me and my whole football team were all potheads. we also drank a ton too haha
-------------------- DanceSafe | Voluntaryism
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headiesmokeonly420
Stranger

Registered: 02/11/11
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Last seen: 9 years, 5 months
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Re: Young athletes use fewer drugs, but more alcohol [Re: digitalemu]
#14539953 - 05/31/11 09:48 AM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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Quote:
While the findings don't prove cause and effect, they could have important implications for preventing drug and alcohol abuse in young adults, the authors write in the journal Addiction.
If it found more athletes used Weed they would say that it does prove the cause and effect. Just goes to show how much alcohol is abused and accepted in our society. If someone is an alcoholic, there's hope, but a pot head o no watch out better throw this non-violent offender in jail.
-------------------- EVERY SINGLE POST I MAKE IS PURELY FICTION AS THIS SCREEN NAME IS A FICTIONAL CHARACTER IF HE WAS REAL HE WOULD BE A COMPLETELY LAW ABIDING CITIZEN ON THAT NOTE... SMOKE WEED EVERYDAY
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the human abstract
malaka the werewolf



Registered: 11/30/09
Posts: 8,817
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ive come to the theory that education in this country makes white kids wanna be black.. which means athletic and smokes pot
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headiesmokeonly420
Stranger

Registered: 02/11/11
Posts: 62
Last seen: 9 years, 5 months
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Quote:
"Drinking might not be as detrimental to their life, whereas smoking something -- it would be much harder to exercise the next day," Lisha, who was not involved in the current study, told Reuters Health.
Just more government bullshit propaganda. I go for 10 to 20 mile bike rides after I smoke herb all the time!
-------------------- EVERY SINGLE POST I MAKE IS PURELY FICTION AS THIS SCREEN NAME IS A FICTIONAL CHARACTER IF HE WAS REAL HE WOULD BE A COMPLETELY LAW ABIDING CITIZEN ON THAT NOTE... SMOKE WEED EVERYDAY
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Sorealism
Knowledge is Power



Registered: 08/04/06
Posts: 196
Last seen: 11 years, 1 month
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Quote:
headiesmokeonly420 said:
Quote:
"Drinking might not be as detrimental to their life, whereas smoking something -- it would be much harder to exercise the next day," Lisha, who was not involved in the current study, told Reuters Health.
Just more government bullshit propaganda. I go for 10 to 20 mile bike rides after I smoke herb all the time!
Seriously, this person is so stupid, have they ever tried working out or doing any other serious physical activity with a hungover?
I can smoke all day and wake up fine and refreshed, and when I drink all day I wake up and feel like
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