A Flawed Study

There are certain questions that most of us answer untruthfully. "Is she better-looking than I was at that age?" "Can you drive home after drinking those beers?" "Who left the toilet seat up?"

The most fudged answer though is "Oh, just a few drinks socially. On weekends, you know" when queried about one's typical alcohol consumption. That question is asked before you see any doctor for the first time or before you give blood. The medical staff, no doubt, doubles that "2 to 4 drinks per week" figure when they enter it onto your records.

Or maybe they more than double it. A recent study claims that heavy drinkers are more likely to catch pneumonia than tee-totalers. "Only the biggest imbibers - men who said they had more than 50 drinks per week - are at higher risk of infection."

Ponder that for a moment. 50 drinks per week is 7 each and every day. I find it hard to believe that even Joe Sixpack Every Night will admit to his alcohol consumption. He might brag about it to his buddies, but never to a medical researcher. Clearly, this study is flawed. Unless that research team is counting the empty Bud Lite bottles in Joe's recycling bin, they are applying a "fudge factor" to what Joe is telling them. "Look at the beer gut on that guy, Doctor. He says he has six drinks per week. I'll put him down for sixty."

The study extended over 12 years. The "biggest imbibers" tossed down 50 drinks per weeks times 52 weeks per year times 12 years which comes to more than 30,000 beers. After 30,000 beers, pneumonia is probably the least of one's health concerns. This is a flawed study, all right.