ALCOHOL AND ITS VARIABLE EFFECT ON HUMAN THERMOREGULATORY RESPONSE TOEXERCISE IN A WARM ENVIRONMENT

The aim of this study was to observe the effect of alcohol ingestion o n body temperature and local sweat rate during endogenous and exogenou s heat stress. After ingesting either alcohol (1.2 g alcohol/kg of bod y weight) or a placebo drink, 8 subjects exercised for 60 minutes at 4 5% VO2max in a warm environment (35 degrees C, 45% RH). Varying patter ns of response were observed in these subjects, with no consistent eff ect on the thermoregulatory response seen. The absence of any signific ant change in skin and body temperature and in sweat rate suggests tha t the capacity of the body to struggle against exogenous and endogenou s heat is not fundamentally altered by alcohol ingestion. The differen ce in individual response observed in our experiment is in accord with the previous lack of clearcut effect of alcohol reported in the liter ature.