Weekend drinking is more lethal than daily downing
January 18th, 2011 - 4:30 pm ICT by IANSLondon, Jan 18 (IANS) There is bad news for exclusive weekend drinkers - they could be harming themselves more than what daily drinkers get.Researchers at Toulouse University in France compared the drinking habits of middle-aged men in three towns in France with that in Belfast in Northern Ireland.
The Frenchmen drank much more overall, about 30 units a week, but the Ulstermen, who drank around 22 units a week, were twice as likely either to have a heart attack or die from one, a British Medical Journal report quoted in Daily Mail said.
The Frenchmen in the study had higher blood pressure, more of them had diabetes and both groups had the same cholesterol levels, according to the report.
The significant difference, say the researchers, was that the French drank little and often throughout the week, which seemed to protect their hearts.
Meanwhile, the Ulstermen downed most of their weekly total in a couple of days at the weekend - they were effectively binge-drinking.
What many people don’t realise is that officially you are “bingeing” if you have twice your daily allowance in the course of one day.
“This new French study serves as a warning to middle-aged men,” says Annie Britton, senior lecturer in epidemiology at University College London.
“They lose the protective effects of alcohol on their heart if they binge-drink,” adds Britton.
- Binge drinking linked to coronary heart disease - Dec 03, 2010
- Binge drinkers at 'higher risk of heart disease' - Nov 24, 2010
- Binge drinking doubles heart attack risk - Nov 25, 2010
- Britain's problem drinkers are middle-aged professionals - Mar 09, 2012
- Britons driving to parties to avoid drinking - Dec 13, 2011
- Wine can help women in middle-age - Sep 08, 2011
- 2 glasses of wine a day in mid-life could make women healthier in old age - Nov 17, 2010
- Binge drinking leads to brain damage - Jun 28, 2011
- 2 glasses of orange juice a day 'can lower BP, cut heart disease risk' - Nov 23, 2010
- Wine a day ensures healthy old age in women - Nov 17, 2010
- Jamie Oliver says UK's "idiot" binge-drinkers should be fined - Apr 10, 2010
- Teen binge drinkers at risk of future bone fractures - Jul 13, 2010
- Sugared beverages raise heart, diabetes risks for women - Nov 15, 2011
- Wine's role ambiguous in protecting heart - Jan 31, 2012
- Over-50s are now Britian's biggest drinkers - Apr 05, 2010
Tags: binge drink, binge drinking, british medical journal, britton, cholesterol levels, couple of days, daily allowance, daily mail, effects of alcohol, epidemiology, french study, frenchmen, heart attack, london jan, northern ireland, senior lecturer, toulouse university, towns in france, university college london, university in france