4 ms·

The moment I read 1-14 units a week that must be wine I thought: “well, that’s every intellectual that I know”. I haven’t done any research, and all my knowled

The moment I read 1-14 units a week that must be wine I thought: “well, that’s every intellectual that I know”. I haven’t done any research, and all my knowledgeable is anecdotal. But I did work in a dementia ward as a caretaker for 5 years as a student job, and keeping your mind busy throughout life seems like a good idea.

benbreen 8y ago
I was thinking that 1 unit = 1 standard drink but if the study is using the UK definition of units, the 1-14/week range is actually much lower than the average alcohol consumption among the academic/intellectual types I know. To put the 1-14 figure into real world terms, 10 UK units is about equal to a single bottle of 14% ABV wine. And to put that in perspective, on multiple occasions I've witnessed a table of Oxford dons drink the equivalent of 10-20 units over lunch! Granted, academics and intellectuals in the UK are more likely (in my admittedly anecdotal experience) to be functional alcoholics than elsewhere. But still, if I were trying to estimate the median consumption among the few dozen people I know with advanced degrees, I'd say it'd fall more in the range of 2-3 bottles of wine a week or equivalent amounts of beer, which is well into the "excessive" zone in this study. Unfortunately, I seem to fall into that group as well :(
- mschuster91 8y ago
  > Granted, academics and intellectuals in the UK are more likely (in my admittedly anecdotal experience) to be functional alcoholics than elsewhere. Anecdata: Back when I was a barkeeper, I've seen so. much. drinking. with Brits - and ordinary soccer fans at that, not (at least not visibly) academics. They regularly drank all other guests, including Slivovitz-trained Croats and Serbs, under the tables... and were still standing firmly, not stumbling around.
  - acjohnson55 8y ago
    Going into study abroad in Wales, as an American, I had this notion that Europeans were more sophisticated and responsible drinkers. Naaaah.
    - mschuster91 8y ago
      We're more trained, that's all. In Germany you can legally start at 16 with beer and wine, and the hard stuff is available at 18. Both in ordinary supermarkets, gas stations, wherever - the only thing that's forbidden is automated vending machines. Compared to the US where the age limit is 21 in many places, well that's 5 years of drinking practice aka alcohol tolerance...
      - andrewflnr 8y ago
        Only for the people who actually respect drinking age laws, which afaict is not that many.
        nier 8y ago
        It seems to me your comment applies to both sides of the atlantic.
        andrewflnr 8y ago
        Well, ok. I can only speak for my side of the ocean, and not very authoritatively at that. :) Is it really widespread, though, for people in Europe to start seriously drinking before 16?
    - wyclif 8y ago
      I hear you. I thought American university students drank a lot, legally and illegally. Then I went to study abroad in London for a semester, and made a lot of English friends. Well, now. Compared to my friends in the UK, I was a consumption amateur. Even though for a time it seemed like I was subsisting on lager, I had to work to keep up during pub crawls. And my entire ancestry originates in the UK, so it was all cultural not genetic!
- eksemplar 8y ago
  I agree, but I don’t think it’s true for the majority in the mid part of life. Almost all my friends are 40-50, have long educations, many are still building on them, and the common consumption is two bottles a wine s week. One Friday, one Saturday, shared with the wife/husband, which is 10-14 units a week. Most of the functional alcoholic academic types don’t go that high until later in life, probably because alcohol and having young children don’t really mix too well. Still completely anecdotal though. It’d be really interesting to see a comparison of this group of people and alcohol consumption. Because other research has already shown that a long education postpones dementia.
- wyclif 8y ago
  Relevant, from The Independent: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/new-alcohol-guidelines-how-many-drinks-is-14-units-a6802091.html https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families...

benbreen 8y ago

I was thinking that 1 unit = 1 standard drink but if the study is using the UK definition of units, the 1-14/week range is actually much lower than the average alcohol consumption among the academic/intellectual types I know. To put the 1-14 figure into real world terms, 10 UK units is about equal to a single bottle of 14% ABV wine. And to put that in perspective, on multiple occasions I've witnessed a table of Oxford dons drink the equivalent of 10-20 units over lunch! Granted, academics and intellectuals in the UK are more likely (in my admittedly anecdotal experience) to be functional alcoholics than elsewhere. But still, if I were trying to estimate the median consumption among the few dozen people I know with advanced degrees, I'd say it'd fall more in the range of 2-3 bottles of wine a week or equivalent amounts of beer, which is well into the "excessive" zone in this study. Unfortunately, I seem to fall into that group as well :(

mschuster91 8y ago
> Granted, academics and intellectuals in the UK are more likely (in my admittedly anecdotal experience) to be functional alcoholics than elsewhere. Anecdata: Back when I was a barkeeper, I've seen so. much. drinking. with Brits - and ordinary soccer fans at that, not (at least not visibly) academics. They regularly drank all other guests, including Slivovitz-trained Croats and Serbs, under the tables... and were still standing firmly, not stumbling around.
- acjohnson55 8y ago
  Going into study abroad in Wales, as an American, I had this notion that Europeans were more sophisticated and responsible drinkers. Naaaah.
  - mschuster91 8y ago
    We're more trained, that's all. In Germany you can legally start at 16 with beer and wine, and the hard stuff is available at 18. Both in ordinary supermarkets, gas stations, wherever - the only thing that's forbidden is automated vending machines. Compared to the US where the age limit is 21 in many places, well that's 5 years of drinking practice aka alcohol tolerance...
    - andrewflnr 8y ago
      Only for the people who actually respect drinking age laws, which afaict is not that many.
      - nier 8y ago
        It seems to me your comment applies to both sides of the atlantic.
        andrewflnr 8y ago
        Well, ok. I can only speak for my side of the ocean, and not very authoritatively at that. :) Is it really widespread, though, for people in Europe to start seriously drinking before 16?
  - wyclif 8y ago
    I hear you. I thought American university students drank a lot, legally and illegally. Then I went to study abroad in London for a semester, and made a lot of English friends. Well, now. Compared to my friends in the UK, I was a consumption amateur. Even though for a time it seemed like I was subsisting on lager, I had to work to keep up during pub crawls. And my entire ancestry originates in the UK, so it was all cultural not genetic!
eksemplar 8y ago
I agree, but I don’t think it’s true for the majority in the mid part of life. Almost all my friends are 40-50, have long educations, many are still building on them, and the common consumption is two bottles a wine s week. One Friday, one Saturday, shared with the wife/husband, which is 10-14 units a week. Most of the functional alcoholic academic types don’t go that high until later in life, probably because alcohol and having young children don’t really mix too well. Still completely anecdotal though. It’d be really interesting to see a comparison of this group of people and alcohol consumption. Because other research has already shown that a long education postpones dementia.
wyclif 8y ago
Relevant, from The Independent: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/new-alcohol-guidelines-how-many-drinks-is-14-units-a6802091.html https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families...