sports/booze

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12-12-2002, 09:40 PM
turbodawg

I wonder if they considered won/lost statistics in this study? I know, personally, I would've drank a lot less this season if Tech'd won a few more ballgames. :wink:

Study: Spirits Abound Among College Sports Fans

Sports Fans More Likely To Binge Drink Than Non-Fans

POSTED: 10:12 a.m. EST December 10, 2002

BOSTON -- A new study found that college sports and drinking go hand in hand.

The Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study surveyed more than 14,000 college students in 39 states, and found that sports fans binge drink more often than non-fans.

The study, which was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, found that 53 percent of sports fans usually binge when they drink. In constrast, 41 percent of male non-fans and 37 percent of female non-fans binge drink.

The results will be published in the January/February issue of the journal Addictive Behaviors.
12-13-2002, 09:15 AM
Champ967

Keep in mind that these studies often consider having more than a couple of beers to be "binge" drinking.

With the bar (no pun) set low enough, most any group can be singled out as likely to "binge".
12-13-2002, 07:13 PM
aubunique

It is tempting to suggest that overdrinking while watching or waiting to watch a sporting event live or on TV is predictable among high-energy people who really would prefer to participate. However, the diversity of fans of athletic events is great and I don't dare assume that. Personally, I probably wouldn't watch if I didn't like to participate. But that isn't true of all.
Maybe the bingers are the ones who wouldn't really like to participate. In any case, I find drinking risky while at events but relatively safe at home in front of a TV. I imagine Tech fans will want to be sober at Tiger Stadium next fall in order to outrun or outfight the gangs of hoodlum Tiger fans they may encounter. Being able to duck flying bottles and such is easier when one is sober.

Another theory: Fans are likely to be sedentary as opposed to people who participate in recreational sports and thus more likely to drink. People who work out in the gym, run, play pickup games, join amateur teams, etc., may drink but aren't quite as likely to drink to excess because they have something to do instead of something to watch.
12-14-2002, 01:18 PM
EJ

Quote:

Originally Posted by Champ967

Keep in mind that these studies often consider having more than a couple of beers to be "binge" drinking.

With the bar (no pun) set low enough, most any group can be singled out as likely to "binge".

I agree. "Studies" and "Statistics" can be manipulated to promote an agenda or beliefs.
12-14-2002, 10:51 PM
aubunique

Two quick drinks can be a binge for a 100-pound female. And two beers or drinks can put even a 150-pound person near the limit for drunk driving in Arkansas since the new standard was passed under the federal mandate.
I don't have much sympathy for people who drink several and then drive. But most people who have two with a reasonably large meal in a restaurant, which means the effect of the alcohol may be slowed, still have to sit a little longer before rising to drive home.
I personally wish undereage students at ALL colleges were finding it as difficult and as sure to be reported as it was at Tech in the 60s. It is nice to protect our young from drinking and other bad habits as long as possible, whether they like it or not.