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America has a drinking problem

theatlantic.com

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Re: America has a drinking problem

#181

Post by offtop5 »

tjs8rj wrote: post #108
offtop5 wrote: post #96

Why not let everyone do what they want? I hate these moralizing articles, if we have a drunk driving problem then write an article about that. But if people want to drink in their own homes let them be.

Are you saying there aren't downsides inherent with drinking itself? I'm onboard with letting people do what they want, but if what they want to do has negative effects the least we should do is make them aware of that.

There are downsides to eating Oreos, but we don't need articles which state obvious facts.

Much wrong has been done in this country by telling people their behavior is a moral. As long as you don't hurt me or anyone else do whatever you want, you're free to drink yourself silly every night

Re: America has a drinking problem

#182

Post by C19is20 »

vdnkh wrote: post #168
fantod wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Noticed this when I was in Germany/Austria as well. In America, if you go out drinking then that's the primary activity. It's what you're doing. But in central Europe socializing and seeing friends is the activity and you just happen to drink because that's what you do when you see your friends.

This makes no sense. Do you think that Americans go out drinking to get drunk arounds friends, but not to socialize with them?

From my (not op) experiences, oh yes. Just last night I was talking to a potential bar investor and one of the huuuuge talking points was " how do we cater for the americans?"

Re: America has a drinking problem

#183

Post by JoeAltmaier »

I heard this statistic (fwiw) here in the US: 10% of a liquor store's customers are responsible for 90% of the sales.

That doesn't mean some fraction are drinking 10X what everybody else is. It means some fraction are drinking 81X what a normal person does.

So yes it's a bipolar drinking culture in the US. Some folks drink, a lot, way too often. The rest drink occasionally or not at all (the liquor stores don't count those that never go into the store).

Re: America has a drinking problem

#184

Post by stephen_greet »

umvi wrote: post #172

I was watching "Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist" with my wife the other day and I commented "These characters seem to all be alcoholics" because seriously they have a drink in hand nearly every scene taking place outside of the workplace. I think part of the problem is glorification of alcohol in pop culture. Heck, at certain times of the year we look forward to watching a bunch of back-to-back alcohol advertisements (…

I noticed something similar. I quit drinking ~4 months ago once I realized I was drinking way too much during quarantine.

Since then I can't stop noticing the prevalence of alcohol in nearly all aspects of pop culture. Even innocuous seeming sitcoms have episodes where the whacky, lovable characters drink to excess and have to deal with a hangover.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#185

Post by adventured »

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #64
rrrrrrrrrrrryan wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly, as someone who has 2-3 drinks per day, I've always been more surprised by the amount of people who basically don't drink at all. In that chart it's over half of Americans. Travel a bit, any you'll quickly discover that a couple drinks in the evening is basically normal in much of the world. I'm not arguing that it's healthy (it's not), but the median American really doesn't drink much - our Puritan values r…

> but the median American really doesn't drink much - our Puritan values run deep. For many of us, it's not about Puritanical values. We simply choose healthier behaviors. It's true that the median alcohol drinkers in America doesn't drink much at all. The vast majority of alcohol is consumed by 10% of the population. Drinkers tend to cluster with other drinkers, and non-drinkers tend to become less interested with a…

The parent is entirely wrong about it being puritan based. The US long ago lost its puritan influences as a primary. The US is a very different place today vs the 1960s or 1980s culturally. Puritanism is a small fraction of influence in the US at this point culturally.

The reason Americans drink less alcohol at the median, is due to how American populations are heavily distributed in housing developments, in suburbs, versus the higher density & primate cities that you see in nearly all of Europe. We gather less frequently European-style, we don't walk or bus or train nearly as much, so the majority generally avoids drinking & driving. In the US if you're going somewhere, the odds are high that you're driving to and from; drinking and driving is an incredibly high penalty risk to take now.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#186

Post by throwaway894345 »

lovegoblin wrote: post #93
throwaway894345 wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I also drink about this much per week. I like a beer or wine or whiskey every now and again, but I've never really seen the point in getting buzzed or drunk (or high for that matter). When I do drink, I only have 1 or 2 at a time, not out of an express desire to stay sober, but because I'm usually pretty naturally satisfied by that amount. For whatever reason, I like sobriety. It's strange to me that people should th…

> It's strange to me that people should think we need a religious motive to prefer sobriety I would not at all be surprised to see a strong correlation of people who are religious and people who never drink. Even "one drink a week" or whatever is a significantly different category than "zero drinks, ever."

I think I agree, but I’m not sure how that fits into the conversation. The OP was marveling at people who don’t drink heavily (and attributed their casual drinking to puritanism), not those who abstained altogether. People who abstain altogether in my experience are either religious, recovering alcoholics, or people who have been close enough to alcoholism to keep a wide birth. In my experience the latter camp is significantly bigger than the others, but that could be unrepresentative for any number of reasons (e.g., I don’t happen to hang out with many devout Muslims).

Re: America has a drinking problem

#187

Post by matwood »

ckosidows wrote: post #137
trts wrote: post #29

I decided to give up alcohol for a year. That was three years ago and doubt I will ever go back. Aside from having better sleep than at any other point as an adult, I truly enjoy the activities I partake in just as much, if not more, than when I still paired them with alcohol. It took about 6 months to stop feeling like I was missing out, and now I feel like everyone else is. Anxiety in general is noticeably lower (t…

Curious about your age? Does this get easier as you get older? I stopped drinking for 6 months and then a friend got a new job and my birthday rolled around. I felt like the situations called for celebratory drinking or that it was expected. I really enjoyed my period of non-drinking and I feel exactly the same as you in regards to sleep, anxiety and well-being. But being in my late 20s I feel like people around my a…

Part age and part friends. As people get older many stop or cut back their drinking. Responsibilities means there's no time. Real friends support you if not drinking is something you want to do.

It also doesn't have to be a binary thing. I go months without drinking and then have a beer or wine because I want one.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#188

Post by phkahler »

rhcom2 wrote: post #145
phkahler wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is more weight loss to be had switching from Diet Coke to water. It's obviously not the calorie content, but the insulin response from sweet tasting things that will occur even with artificial sweeteners.

I don't think there is scientific evidence to back that up from what I could find: https://www.oatext.com/Blood-glucose-and-insulin-response-to...

Thanks! While that is a very small study, it seems pretty convincing.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#189

Post by jjeaff »

rhcom2 wrote: post #145
phkahler wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is more weight loss to be had switching from Diet Coke to water. It's obviously not the calorie content, but the insulin response from sweet tasting things that will occur even with artificial sweeteners.

I don't think there is scientific evidence to back that up from what I could find: https://www.oatext.com/Blood-glucose-and-insulin-response-to...

I haven't read that it affects insulin response. But I have heard that it can cause you to crave more calories because it gives you the perception of consuming something but without the calories. I'm not sure what the mechanism is here or if maybe it is just psychological.

Re: America has a drinking problem

#190

Post by waterglassFull »

leifg wrote: post #56
trts wrote: post #29

I decided to give up alcohol for a year. That was three years ago and doubt I will ever go back. Aside from having better sleep than at any other point as an adult, I truly enjoy the activities I partake in just as much, if not more, than when I still paired them with alcohol. It took about 6 months to stop feeling like I was missing out, and now I feel like everyone else is. Anxiety in general is noticeably lower (t…

Genuine question: what do you drink instead? Do you stick to water or do you order any kind of soda/lemonade (or something I’m not thinking about)

Give quality sparkling water a go if you can, eg San Pellegrino, Castello, Harrogate (glass only), etc.
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