Exercise and yoga improved mental quality-of-life scores in adults with alcohol use disorder
Among adults with alcohol use disorder who were not seeking treatment, exercise and yoga improved mental quality-of-life scores more than telephone counselling. The study does not establish lasting effects.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Both exercise groups showed greater improvement in the mental component of a health-related quality-of-life survey than the counselling group. This supports a benefit for that measured outcome in the adults studied. It does not establish whether alcohol use changed, whether improvements lasted, or whether either exercise approach was better than the other.
Quality of life was a secondary outcome, and participants knew their treatment assignment. The abstract provides no assessment beyond the treatment period, limiting conclusions about persistence.
What researchers found
Mental component of the health survey
After 12 weeks, aerobic exercise and yoga each showed greater improvement than usual care by telephone counselling.
What was measured
The researchers used a health survey to assess quality of life before and after treatment. Its mental component was the central reported result here; it was not a measure of alcohol consumption or recovery from alcohol use disorder.
How to read the comparison
Random assignment provides a basis for comparing the treatment groups. The reported result concerns improvement relative to counselling, while the abstract gives no direct evidence that yoga and aerobic exercise differed from each other.
The original publication
Changes in health-related quality of life following an exercise intervention for alcohol use disorder: Secondary analyses of a randomized controlled trial (FitForChange).
Werneck AO, Welfordsson P, Hallgren M
Drug Alcohol Depend · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 40638957
- Record checked
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