Walking away from alcohol urges: A preliminary test of the efficacy of moderate-intensity exercise for reducing alcohol craving in heavy social drinkers

• Tested if exercise reduces in-the-moment alcohol craving and consumption. • Exercise reduced alcohol craving and wanting during the activity. • Exercise was associated with lower consumption of an alcohol placebo. • Exercise is a tolerable strategy to manage alcohol urges in heavy drinkers. Exercise may be a feasible strategy to help control alcohol consumption, yet its impact on alcohol craving and drinking behavior in community samples of heavy social drinkers remains unclear. This pilot study tested whether a single, 20-minute bout of moderate-intensity exercise reduces in-the-moment alcohol craving, wanting, and consumption compared to a colouring distraction. Sixty-eight heavy social drinkers (ages 19–65) were randomized to 20 min of treadmill walking or colouring following consumption of an alcohol prime beverage designed to elicit craving. Alcohol craving (Alcohol Urge Questionnaire), wanting (Drug Effects Questionnaire), and affect (Positive Affect Negative Affect Scale) were assessed at post-prime, mid-activity, and post-activity time points. An ad libitum beverage task (proportion of alcohol placebo vs. water consumed) assessed alcohol consumption. Bayesian multilevel and zero-one-inflated beta models tested study hypotheses, with Bayes factors (BF 10 ) quantifying evidence strength. There was strong evidence that exercise reduced craving and wanting from post-prime to mid-activity to a greater extent than colouring (BF 10 > 18, posterior probabilities > 95%). By post-activity, both conditions showed within-group decreases, but between-group differences were minimal. During the beverage task, exercise condition participants consumed less alcohol placebo than water (BF 10 = 13.0), with weaker evidence for a similar association in the colouring group. Affect changes were equivalent across conditions. A single, moderate-intensity exercise session reduced alcohol craving and wanting during exercise and was associated with less placebo consumption than water. Exercise may offer a tolerable, low-cost strategy to reduce alcohol urges in heavy social drinkers.