Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Don't Believe the Hype
Recently, Nutrition Action newsletter directed my attention to this study conducted on women employed at semiconductor plants in East Fishkill, New York.
The results of the study state, rather cavalierly, that consumption of alcohol and caffeine reduces the risk of pregnancy. Now before you jump, as I did, to the conclusion that this is incredible news for loose women who love Sparks, I have to stop you. I consulted a colleague of mine (who is an actual scholar in the sciences) and she quickly put the breaks on this sexy, drunk trainwreck of a theory. The study loses credence mainly because the test sample was small and because information was gathered via questionnaires that I will assume consisted of questions like "So how did everything go last night? OMG, did you get drunk and go all the way? Tell me everything." The study did have some merits, for instance including phrases like "women employed at semiconductor plants" and "Fishkill," but it failed to address the well-known facts that alcohol consumption increases the likelihood of unprotected sex, and caffeine is the leading cause of babies. Also, if Hakim et al. are such great scientists, why would they produce data that (when misrepresented by me) indicate that every woman conceives 15 children a year?
The results of the study state, rather cavalierly, that consumption of alcohol and caffeine reduces the risk of pregnancy. Now before you jump, as I did, to the conclusion that this is incredible news for loose women who love Sparks, I have to stop you. I consulted a colleague of mine (who is an actual scholar in the sciences) and she quickly put the breaks on this sexy, drunk trainwreck of a theory. The study loses credence mainly because the test sample was small and because information was gathered via questionnaires that I will assume consisted of questions like "So how did everything go last night? OMG, did you get drunk and go all the way? Tell me everything." The study did have some merits, for instance including phrases like "women employed at semiconductor plants" and "Fishkill," but it failed to address the well-known facts that alcohol consumption increases the likelihood of unprotected sex, and caffeine is the leading cause of babies. Also, if Hakim et al. are such great scientists, why would they produce data that (when misrepresented by me) indicate that every woman conceives 15 children a year?
