05 May 2007

Lying with Statistics

Mostly, I try to ignore commercials. Most of what they advertise is poisonous to me anyway. I happened to have the tv unmuted for this gem: "(Beer X) has fewer calories ounce per ounce than white wine!" Uh, okay, that's probably true, but a serving of white wine is also smaller than a serving of most beers. The first source that I found indicates that, for the same amount of alcohol, a serving of beer is 12 ounces and 150 calories. A serving of wine is 5 ounces and 100 calories. This probably varies somewhat by brand, and I don't have a listing for 'lite' beer, but I doubt it's anything less than 100 calories. So unless you were planning to drink the same amount of wine as of beer, there's no advantage to switching over.

(For the record, I don't drink. If anyone with more direct knowledge wishes to correct anything here, feel free.)

3 comments:

John said...

Lying with statistics is an honored advertising practice, with a long and glorious tradition.

John said...

Sorry, I meant "prestigious" rather than "honored"

Qalmlea said...

Yeah, but this one was just so...obvious. I actually remember little diagrams from health class about what size the servings were for the various types of drink.

I also remember them stressing the high-calorie content of alcohol, probably to discourage weight-conscious teens from trying it.

As for me, I don't drink because I don't care for the taste. The only alcoholic drink that I tried and liked was a chocolate liqueur. THAT would be dangerous for me to have around. Anything else? Well, giving it to me would be a good way to age it, assuming I didn't throw it out.