Sobering up to new economic reality?
Despite our rising numbers, we're drinking less
By Zhen Ming
TIGER Beer may have been first popularised in the Lion City. But a nation of loud-mouthed, bare-chested, beer-bellied drinkers, we certainly are not.
And the numbers on beer-drinking here are literally sobering - never mind those bold claims of some party revellers about binge drinking (and bottoms-baring).
Yes, the amount of beer (including ale, stout and porter) consumed throughout Singapore each year may have been creeping up year after year.
But, in reality, especially of late (perhaps because of the economic downturn), this yearly increase has not caught up with the growth in our population.
So while the Singapore population as a whole may have drunk the equivalent of 281 million cans of beer in 2008 (up nearly 3 per cent from the preceding year), the average person 'sipped' only 58.1 cans last year (compared to 59.5 cans in 2007).
I dare say 'sipped' (instead of 'gulped') because the 58.1 cans of beer per capita in 2008 actually works out to no more than 1.1 can a week (or less than 0.2 can a day)!
Could we, therefore, be sobering up to the new economic reality?
Recent cutback
More likely, in reality, the fewer beers in Singapore are probably the result of our recent cutback in discretionary spending, compounded by the already steep duties serving as an effective deterrent to the drinking of beers (and other liquors) here.
Speaking of facts and myths, did you know that the beer belly is a myth?
There is no such thing as a 'beer belly', say researchers from both Britain and the Czech Republic who, in late 2003, jointly surveyed almost 2,000 Czechs, who are generally regarded as the world's biggest beer drinkers.
Writing in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the scientists said claims that people are obese because they drink too much beer are wrong.
Meticulously measuring the weight as well as the waist to hip ratio and body mass index of all those randomly surveyed, they found no link between the amount of beer Czechs drink and the size of their stomachs.
In other words, the so-called 'beer belly' is more likely to be caused by eating too much food. No beer or other alcohol beverage is necessary.
Meanwhile, a separate study (also published in 2003) suggests that some people are genetically predisposed to develop beer bellies.
Italian researchers said men with a certain gene variation have a tendency to get a flabby stomach.
Five myths about beer-drinking and alcohol
Myth: Alcohol destroys brain cells.
Fact: The moderate consumption of alcohol does not destroy brain cells. In fact, it is often associated with improved cognitive (mental) functioning.
Myth: Switching between beer, wine and spirits will lead to intoxication more quickly than sticking to one type of alcohol beverage.
Fact: The level of blood alcohol content is what determines sobriety or intoxication. Remember that a standard drink — whether beer, wine, or spirits — contains an equivalent amount of alcohol. Alcohol is alcohol and a drink is a drink.
Myth: Men and women of the same height and weight can drink the same.
Fact: Women are affected more rapidly because they tend to have a slightly higher proportion of fat to lean muscle tissue, thus concentrating alcohol a little more easily in their lower percentage of body water. Women also have less of an enzyme (dehydrogenase) that metabolizes or breaks down alcohol, and hormonal changes during their menstrual cycle might also affect alcohol absorption to some degree.
Myth: People who abstain from alcohol are "alcohol-free".
Fact: Every person produces alcohol normally in the body 24 hours each and every day from birth until death. Therefore, we always have alcohol in our bodies.
Myth: People who can "hold their liquor" are to be envied.
Fact: People who can drink heavily without becoming intoxicated have probably developed a high tolerance for alcohol, which can indicate the onset of dependency.
Source: The New Paper, Sun 15 Feb 2009
Despite our rising numbers, we're drinking less
By Zhen Ming
TIGER Beer may have been first popularised in the Lion City. But a nation of loud-mouthed, bare-chested, beer-bellied drinkers, we certainly are not.
And the numbers on beer-drinking here are literally sobering - never mind those bold claims of some party revellers about binge drinking (and bottoms-baring).
Yes, the amount of beer (including ale, stout and porter) consumed throughout Singapore each year may have been creeping up year after year.
But, in reality, especially of late (perhaps because of the economic downturn), this yearly increase has not caught up with the growth in our population.
So while the Singapore population as a whole may have drunk the equivalent of 281 million cans of beer in 2008 (up nearly 3 per cent from the preceding year), the average person 'sipped' only 58.1 cans last year (compared to 59.5 cans in 2007).
I dare say 'sipped' (instead of 'gulped') because the 58.1 cans of beer per capita in 2008 actually works out to no more than 1.1 can a week (or less than 0.2 can a day)!
Could we, therefore, be sobering up to the new economic reality?
Recent cutback
More likely, in reality, the fewer beers in Singapore are probably the result of our recent cutback in discretionary spending, compounded by the already steep duties serving as an effective deterrent to the drinking of beers (and other liquors) here.
Speaking of facts and myths, did you know that the beer belly is a myth?
There is no such thing as a 'beer belly', say researchers from both Britain and the Czech Republic who, in late 2003, jointly surveyed almost 2,000 Czechs, who are generally regarded as the world's biggest beer drinkers.
Writing in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the scientists said claims that people are obese because they drink too much beer are wrong.
Meticulously measuring the weight as well as the waist to hip ratio and body mass index of all those randomly surveyed, they found no link between the amount of beer Czechs drink and the size of their stomachs.
In other words, the so-called 'beer belly' is more likely to be caused by eating too much food. No beer or other alcohol beverage is necessary.
Meanwhile, a separate study (also published in 2003) suggests that some people are genetically predisposed to develop beer bellies.
Italian researchers said men with a certain gene variation have a tendency to get a flabby stomach.
Five myths about beer-drinking and alcohol
Myth: Alcohol destroys brain cells.
Fact: The moderate consumption of alcohol does not destroy brain cells. In fact, it is often associated with improved cognitive (mental) functioning.
Myth: Switching between beer, wine and spirits will lead to intoxication more quickly than sticking to one type of alcohol beverage.
Fact: The level of blood alcohol content is what determines sobriety or intoxication. Remember that a standard drink — whether beer, wine, or spirits — contains an equivalent amount of alcohol. Alcohol is alcohol and a drink is a drink.
Myth: Men and women of the same height and weight can drink the same.
Fact: Women are affected more rapidly because they tend to have a slightly higher proportion of fat to lean muscle tissue, thus concentrating alcohol a little more easily in their lower percentage of body water. Women also have less of an enzyme (dehydrogenase) that metabolizes or breaks down alcohol, and hormonal changes during their menstrual cycle might also affect alcohol absorption to some degree.
Myth: People who abstain from alcohol are "alcohol-free".
Fact: Every person produces alcohol normally in the body 24 hours each and every day from birth until death. Therefore, we always have alcohol in our bodies.
Myth: People who can "hold their liquor" are to be envied.
Fact: People who can drink heavily without becoming intoxicated have probably developed a high tolerance for alcohol, which can indicate the onset of dependency.
Source: The New Paper, Sun 15 Feb 2009
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