Wine drinkers 'more healthy'

2006-01-20 09:31

Paris - The stereotype of the beer drinker as a lover of cholesterol-boosting snacks has been borne out by a study that also confirms that wine drinkers are likelier to tuck into something light and healthy.

Four Danish researchers ploughed through 3.5 million transactions that were carried out in Danish supermarkets over six months.

The team categorised transactions as "wine only", "beer only", "mixed" or "non-alcohol".

"Wine buyers bought more olives, fruit and vegetables, poultry, cooking oil and low-fat cheese, milk and meat than beer buyers," they report in a paper published online Friday by the British Medical Journal (BMJ).

"Beer buyers bought more ready-cooked dishes, sugar, cold cuts, chips (crisps), pork, butter or margarine, sausages, lamb and soft drinks than wine buyers."

The findings, the authors say, add to previous research conducted elsewhere in Western cultures that say wine drinkers tend to have a higher income, level of education and awareness of healthy diet than beer drinkers.

Investigations into alcoholism may not be taking "lifestyle factors", derived from socio-economic backgrounds, sufficiently into account, they suggest.

The 3.5 million transactions were chosen at random from 98 outlets from 16 supermarkets of the Bilka chain and 82 stores of the Fotex chain.

The computerised checkout data were stored to help the supermarkets keep their inventories and could not be traced back to individual customers.

- AFP