A recent health survey by the NHS ‘Know your Limits’ campaign shows that one in five people will exercise the day after a heavy drinking session.

UK Public Health Minister, Gillian Merron said: “If you have a big night at the pub, you’re not going to compensate with a workout the following day.”

In a RiverOnline poll, a quarter of students asked ‘would you exercise after a heavy night out?’ said they would - feeling guilty for bingeing or to help recover from a hangover.

While exercising regularly and eating sensibly is all key to a healthy lifestyle, working out to counter the effects of binge drinking is dangerous and a worryingly normal trend for more than 10 million adults in Britain.  Exercising while the body is recovering from a binge can lead to dehydration and fatigue, or more seriously put stress on the heart and major organs increasing the risk of heart attack, stroke or liver failure.

For many adults drinking problems can be temporarily disguised as they compensate by exercising or playing sports, and can appear fit and healthy. However, the consequences of continuing this pattern for a long period of time will have an impact.

Kingston University fitness centre on Penrhyn Road contains 65 pieces of equipment and is well used by Kingston students trying to balance studies with a healthy lifestyle. However, RiverOnline discovered that many students were unaware of the dangers of exercising following binge drinking.

KU fitness instructor, Ricky James said: “The main problem we see is dehydration and a lack of energy which can lead to exhaustion.”

Worryingly, Mr James described a recent incident with a student during a jujitsu class: “the guy was so hung-over and had really low energy that he nearly passed out.”

For Kingston students, Wednesday evening is the most popular time to hit the gym just before indulging in an intense drinking session on a student night out. But according to Mr James the dangers of working out before drinking can “severely run down the body and cause alcohol to get into the system faster.”

Mr James warned: “In the first two weeks of a new programme, don’t go out drinking as exercise can be very gruelling on the body.”