Four Danish researchers studied 3½ million grocery receipts from 98 stores between September, 2002 and February, 2003. Their findings: wine drinkers eat healthier than beer drinkers, implying that that may be more of a factor in good heart health than the supposed health benefits of drinking wine.
People who bought wine at the store were also more likely to buy more olives, fruits and vegetables, fish, lean meats and dairy products than beer consumers did, said the study.
Beer buyers were more likely to buy frozen dinners, cold cuts, pork, mutton, crisps, sugary products, butter, margarine and soft drinks.
They also reference a previous Danish study that found:
Wine consumers also tended to have higher education levels, higher earnings and be in better psychological health…
Okay, I admit: My first gut reaction was “bite me, you wine snobs”. That seems to play into the beer-bellied, knuckle-dragging stereotype, so I let that go.
But what’s really going on here? Do beer drinkers like to eat unhealthy food, or do people who like to eat unhealthy food like to drink beer? Is there a difference? Does it really follow that more educated people drink wine, or do more educated people fall into the trap of wanting to seem sophisticated and so buy more wine? Is it simply economics? Beer is cheaper, of course, and poverty plays a big role in the food choices people make. Face it, buying healthy food is expensive. Is this implying that wine drinkers are smarter and thus healthier? So if you want to be healthier and smarter, you should drink wine?
That sounds like a bogus conclusion to me. It’s like one of those stupid non-statistics in sports. “When this running back gets 100 or more yards in a game, his team wins 90% of the time.” This implies that getting this running back 100 yards virtually guarantees you a win. What it really means, though, is that when his team is ahead they’re able to effectively control the clock and can use the running game more. It’s not a real statistic. The real statistic is “when this running back’s team is winning, they usually give him the ball enough for him to gain 100 yards”.
Maybe I’m just being cranky today, but that’s what I’m getting out of this. What do I know, though? I’m just a beer drinker.
(via Jiblog)
