You Could Be at Less Risk of Obesity If You’re an Angry Drunk

Everyone's got that friend who, at around the third or fourth beer, starts to get a bit rowdy. By the end of the night, they're basically Rocky, circling the dance floor like a boxing ring and cornering anyone they can find into another impassioned Brexit rant.

They may have to spend the next morning apologising for almost coming to blows with you over the Taylor Swift/Kimye saga (Tay Tay was not a victim), but new research from the University of Helsinki has found that being an angry drunk could have its advantages.

Results released yesterday from a study published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research show that men who are carriers of a gene mutation that causes "impulsive and reckless behaviour" when drunk, could be protected from obesity and Type 2 diabetes.

The study looked at the insulin sensitivity, beta cell activity, and BMI of 98 Finnish men aged between 25 and 30-years-old, all of whom had been diagnosed with antisocial personality disorders, but did not all carry the gene mutation.

Psychiatrists carrying out the research concluded in a press release that "carriers of a point mutation in a gene of serotonin 2B receptor had a lower BMI and higher insulin sensitivity than persons without the mutation."

The researchers also found that that the mutation affected how testosterone reacted to insulin sensitivity, low levels of which is linked to the development of diabetes.

The study states that, while low testosterone levels usually put men more at risk of metabolic disorders, "among carriers of the point mutation, this tendency was reversed—lower levels of testosterone increased insulin sensitivity."

While the study didn't focus on women, previous research by the same scientists found that 2.2 percent of the Finnish population—men and women—are carriers of the mutation. And lead author of the study, psychiatrist Roope Tikkanen, suggests that the same protection from obesity is likely to be found in female carriers, too.

In a press statement, Tikkanen said: "One would assume that the effect would be particularly pronounced in women, who naturally have lower levels of testosterone than men."

Probably still best to avoid a drunken fight, though. Several tequilas down, you ain't gonna win.