Science Roundup: Feb. 6, 2006

Does Alcohol Labelling Encourage Sensible Drinking?...Jake: No

Clear labelling on shop-bought alcohol, showing the alcohol units contained and health advice, may not be effective in promoting sensible drinking, says a letter in this week's BMJ.

In a snapshot survey of 263 supermarket shoppers in Edinburgh, two university lecturers investigated whether information labels on alcoholic drinks influenced drinking awareness.

Although most of those surveyed could define what constitutes a unit of alcohol, less than a fifth of men and just a quarter of women used the information to monitor how much they drank.

Very few - just 8% of women and 5% of men - were aware of the current guidelines which outline sensible daily drinking levels (brought in to help people avoid drunkenness). Many instead estimated the maximum number of units per day from older guidelines defining weekly levels, while a third offered no suggestion at all.

So you are saying that telling people how much is "sensible" doesn't help them drink responsibly? Wow, who saw that coming.

It doesn't matter what you put on the label. It is the same deal as cigarettes. You could attach a giant neon sign to each box that say "Don't under any circumstances consume this product. You will not make it out of the store alive," and it wouldn't discourage anyone.

Besides, telling someone how much they are drinking isn't going to discourage them. If anything it will encourage them. It helps you keep score.

Awwww: Dads-to-Be Pile on the Pounds, Too

Dads-to-be pile on the pounds during their partners’ pregnancy too – at least in some monkey species, new research suggests. The findings may illuminate the biological changes that occur in men to encourage effective fatherhood, since the primates studied are exceptionally good parents.

Pregnancy is something that not all expectant fathers miss out on – male 'sympathetic pregnancies' have been reported in humans but never systematically studied. They are often regarded as psychosomatic events.

[...]

"We found that the males gained on average an extra 10% of their body weight during the pregnancy," says Toni Zeigler who led the research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison National Primate Research Center. The weight gain was not as pronounced as for the females, but was acquired earlier in the pregnancy – about midway. The majority of female weight gain occurred during the final weeks of gestation.

Gains a couple sympathy pounds...great...very cute.

Article Author: Jake Young

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