Alcohol and its variable effect on human thermoregulatory response to exercise in a warm environment

The aim of this study was to observe the effect of alcohol ingestion on body temperature and local sweat rate during endogenous and exogenous heat stress. After ingesting either alcohol (1.2 g alcohol/kg of body weight) or a placebo drink, 8 subjects exercised for 60 minutes at 45% VO2max in a warm environment (35 degrees C, 45% RH). Varying patterns of response were observed in these subjects, with no consistent effect on the thermoregulatory response seen. The absence of any significant change in skin and body temperature and in sweat rate suggests that the capacity of the body to struggle against exogenous and endogenous heat is not fundamentally altered by alcohol ingestion. The difference in individual response observed in our experiment is in accord with the previous lack of clearcut effect of alcohol reported in the literature.