Testing weight motives and guilt/shame as mediators of the relationship between alcohol use and physical activity.

OBJECTIVES: Test whether weight motives and guilt/shame mediate the positive relationship between physical activity and alcohol use among college-attending young adults. DESIGN: A longitudinal design was employed. METHOD: Young adults who were attending college (N=371) completed two self-administered questionnaires separated by approximately one month. Heavy episodic drinking was assessed at Time 1. Vigorous physical activity, moderate physical activity, weight motives, and guilt/shame were assessed at Time 2. RESULTS: Results are consistent with weight motives as a mediator of the positive relationship between heavy episodic drinking and vigorous physical activity. Results were inconsistent with guilt/shame as a mediator of this relationship. There was no statistically significant relationship between heavy episodic drinking and moderate physical activity. CONCLUSIONS: Heavy episodic drinking was related to vigorous but not to moderate physical activity in the subsequent 30-days. Furthermore, the results are consistent with weight motives as a mediator of the relationship between alcohol use and vigorous physical activity.