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Also have to factor in the opportunity cost of drinking...going for a drink after work instead of the gym? What comes next? Bar food with your beer and maybe a

Also have to factor in the opportunity cost of drinking...going for a drink after work instead of the gym? What comes next? Bar food with your beer and maybe a pizza? I'd rather have the work out, good meal, hydrate, and get good sleep. It's obvious that good habits snowball into more good habits, while bad habits snowball into more bad habits.

maximente 7y ago
haha, this reads like some abstinence only sex education argument or something. don't let that one beer turn in to a good time! i think it's funny that having a good (if not optimally healthy) time would be so ridiculed, but maybe that's just me. FWIW i know a lot of people who work out at 4:30am in order to gain that time for after work social activities which often include alcohol, so not mutually exclusive.
- joshschultheiss 7y ago
  Not the commenter you replied to, but I feel like you both have valid points. > Bar food with your beer and maybe a pizza? > don't let that one beer turn in to a good time! Personally, I prefer to enjoy the social benefits of going out without the consequences of alcohol or "bar food." I accept people's drug habits - it's fine to consume drugs responsibly (alcohol included). For me, I am able to have a good time and "let loose" without being under the influence of drugs. There's nothing wrong with being sober. You can still participate in the local economy, engage in social events, and live a healthy life without fitting the routine you described of going to the bar and hitting the gym. Anyways, my point of saying this is that I wonder if alcohol for most people increases their life expectancy because it lets them socialize more. In the same way that people buy essential oils and it has a placebo effect on the that make them feel better, I think the bar scene has the same effect on many Americans. My social experience is that people are mentally unable to "let loose" and socialize without the aide of drugs.
  - capkutay 7y ago
    Exactly. Personally I don't like drinking. I see the fun of getting drunk with friends and all..experienced it in my college years...but I don't like the unspoken pressure/expectation that you have to be on something to have a good time.
- 52-6F-62 7y ago
  I'm one of those people. Rather, it's gym at 5:30/6:00 AM so that I don't have to go later. Then I can have a pizza day and not feel guilty. Life's too short to live so puritanically, if you ask me. Some of the biggest eaters and drinkers I've known were also some of the highest performing athletes. I'm not fond of the habit of isolating each of these habits as if each of them are as statistically effective as they are in a vacuum.
  - gowld 7y ago
    A pizza a day, or a slice of pizza a day? The secret of junk foot is that junk food makes your mouth feel good for 20mminutes, but healthy food makes your body feel good all day, and gives you an energy level to live more actively.
    - beatgammit 7y ago
      It sounds like "a pizza day", probably meaning once a week.
- capkutay 7y ago
  am I ridiculing having a good time? If I'm not drinking at a bar every night I'm boring? Sounds like a Budweiser ad to me... I'm simply saying there's a real opportunity cost which is directly in context with the comment I'm replying to. Sorry you interpreted it differently. Simply put, if you're out drinking, you're not in the gym or doing another activity that has more health benefits. Don't let that stop you from 'having a good time', but it's something to keep in mind when we talk about the health effects of having a couple drinks everyday.
JamesBarney 7y ago
Drinkers actually exercise more. So maybe they don't quite snowball. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2747097/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2747097/
- gowld 7y ago
  More accurate to say drinkers "self report that they exercise about 10-15% more than non drinkers do." It's possible drinking impacts their self reports :-)
Bartweiss 7y ago
Bear in mind that the study looked at the combined impact of multiple factors: working out, eating healthy food, and not being overweight were specifically studied. So by definition, this "10 more years" population were the people for whom drinking didn't snowball. That said, the individual-factor breakdown really did find that at low doses, rising alcohol consumption correlated with improved health. Undoubtedly some healthy-user bias between no and light drinking, but it's a pretty smooth curve through moderate consumption.

maximente 7y ago

haha, this reads like some abstinence only sex education argument or something. don't let that one beer turn in to a good time! i think it's funny that having a good (if not optimally healthy) time would be so ridiculed, but maybe that's just me. FWIW i know a lot of people who work out at 4:30am in order to gain that time for after work social activities which often include alcohol, so not mutually exclusive.

joshschultheiss 7y ago
Not the commenter you replied to, but I feel like you both have valid points. > Bar food with your beer and maybe a pizza? > don't let that one beer turn in to a good time! Personally, I prefer to enjoy the social benefits of going out without the consequences of alcohol or "bar food." I accept people's drug habits - it's fine to consume drugs responsibly (alcohol included). For me, I am able to have a good time and "let loose" without being under the influence of drugs. There's nothing wrong with being sober. You can still participate in the local economy, engage in social events, and live a healthy life without fitting the routine you described of going to the bar and hitting the gym. Anyways, my point of saying this is that I wonder if alcohol for most people increases their life expectancy because it lets them socialize more. In the same way that people buy essential oils and it has a placebo effect on the that make them feel better, I think the bar scene has the same effect on many Americans. My social experience is that people are mentally unable to "let loose" and socialize without the aide of drugs.
- capkutay 7y ago
  Exactly. Personally I don't like drinking. I see the fun of getting drunk with friends and all..experienced it in my college years...but I don't like the unspoken pressure/expectation that you have to be on something to have a good time.
52-6F-62 7y ago
I'm one of those people. Rather, it's gym at 5:30/6:00 AM so that I don't have to go later. Then I can have a pizza day and not feel guilty. Life's too short to live so puritanically, if you ask me. Some of the biggest eaters and drinkers I've known were also some of the highest performing athletes. I'm not fond of the habit of isolating each of these habits as if each of them are as statistically effective as they are in a vacuum.
- gowld 7y ago
  A pizza a day, or a slice of pizza a day? The secret of junk foot is that junk food makes your mouth feel good for 20mminutes, but healthy food makes your body feel good all day, and gives you an energy level to live more actively.
  - beatgammit 7y ago
    It sounds like "a pizza day", probably meaning once a week.
capkutay 7y ago
am I ridiculing having a good time? If I'm not drinking at a bar every night I'm boring? Sounds like a Budweiser ad to me... I'm simply saying there's a real opportunity cost which is directly in context with the comment I'm replying to. Sorry you interpreted it differently. Simply put, if you're out drinking, you're not in the gym or doing another activity that has more health benefits. Don't let that stop you from 'having a good time', but it's something to keep in mind when we talk about the health effects of having a couple drinks everyday.

JamesBarney 7y ago

Drinkers actually exercise more. So maybe they don't quite snowball. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2747097/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2747097/

gowld 7y ago
More accurate to say drinkers "self report that they exercise about 10-15% more than non drinkers do." It's possible drinking impacts their self reports :-)

Bartweiss 7y ago

Bear in mind that the study looked at the combined impact of multiple factors: working out, eating healthy food, and not being overweight were specifically studied. So by definition, this "10 more years" population were the people for whom drinking didn't snowball. That said, the individual-factor breakdown really did find that at low doses, rising alcohol consumption correlated with improved health. Undoubtedly some healthy-user bias between no and light drinking, but it's a pretty smooth curve through moderate consumption.