Big-bellied beer swillers chomping down on crisps and lumps of deep-fried chicken in a smoky pub while throwing darts and roaring at a big screen showing a football match.
Meanwhile, at the gastro wine bar next door, svelte sippers make small talk while moving bits of salad around a plate and gingerly plucking morsels off a cheese board.
Tropes or truth?
The needle is edging towards the latter, going by the outcome of a recent “nationally representative” survey of almost 2,000 drinkers in the United States, who were asked about what they eat and if they get any exercise.
“Beer drinkers have lower- quality diets, are less active, and are more likely to smoke cigarettes than people who drink wine, liquor, or a combination,” according to doctors at Tulane University in Louisiana, who discussed their findings at the Nov 15-19 meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.
The researchers said the differences in diet quality could be in part due to beer being available in pubs and at barbecues “where the available foods tend to be low in fibre and high in carbohydrates and processed meats.”
“On the other hand, wine, particularly red wine, is often paired with meals complete with meat, vegetables and dairy,” the team noted.
The disparity was found even though beer-only drinkers are often younger males who are more likely to play sports and do physically demanding work than others.
But those who said they drank only beer, or beer and some liquor, included many older people and those more likely to smoke or not do much exercise.
Research in the United Kingdom published earlier this year found people who live in parts of towns with a “high density” of pubs and fast food outlets are statistically more likely to develop heart disease than residents of other districts.
A study published in mid-2023, based on health data covering over 700,000 Americans, warned that too much fast food and alcohol in middle age could lead to premature death.
But the researchers concluded that lack of exercise was as likely a cause of dying young than drinking too much or eating too much bad food. – dpa
