The Quarantine Thread

[China]

Study: Pandemic Led to More Drinking, Smoking, but Less Exercise

 

This may not come as a surprise -- but Americans drank more, smoked more, watched more TV and exercised less during COVID-19 business closures and stay-at-home orders, according to a UCLA-led study released today.

 

The study, published in the Switzerland-based journal Nutrients, confirmed that Americans largely settled into sedentary routines during the height of the pandemic.

 

“We found that regulations to restrict non-essential activities and stay-at-home orders during the pandemic have had profoundly negative impacts on multiple lifestyle behaviors in American adults,'' according to a statement from Dr. Liwei Chen, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health associate professor of epidemiology and lead author of the study. “As bad as these changes have been for all Americans, they disproportionately impact racial and ethnic minorities in the U.S., who already bear a higher disease burden from COVID-19.''

 

Click on the link for the full article

[dfitzo53]

Shoot, they could've saved a lot of money and just called me and I could've told them that.

[Larry]

4 hours ago, dfitzo53 said:

Shoot, they could've saved a lot of money and just called me and I could've told them that.

You saying they could have done that work from their sofas?

[China]

Brits masturbated 25% more often during lockdown to cope with boredom and kill free time, study suggests

 

Britons masturbated more often during the country's first Covid lockdown, scientists have found. 

 

A quarter of young adults confessed to pleasuring themselves more frequently at the height of the first wave in spring 2020.

 

At that time, Britons were living under the most draconian rules seen throughout the pandemic, including being banned from meeting partners they did not live with.

A fifth of respondents admitted to watching more porn during that time, with men more likely to report the increase. 

 

Researchers said people were most likely to attribute the increases to boredom and more free time. 

 

Results were based on a survey of 565 adults aged between 18 and 32, by academics at the universities of Bournemouth and Roehampton.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[RichmondRedskin88]

Funny I worked out more and was golfing non stop so I actually was in my best shape since I ran marathons for St Jude race team back in the day(Even then my arms weren’t that great.). First time I felt quite ripped when I went to the beach with friends and I was dropping jaws at the golf course on vacation when I got paired with some randoms distance wise. 

[China]

What’s behind the stunning rise in alcohol-related deaths

 

Alcohol is one of the most commonly used drugs in America, and it is also one of the deadliest, with more and more people losing their lives to alcohol-related causes over the last two decades. A new report reveals how the problem has become more acute in recent years. Keith Humphreys, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University, joins William Brangham to discuss.

 

Geoff Bennett:

One of the most commonly used drugs in the U.S. is also one of the deadliest. That's alcohol.

Over the last 20 years, more and more Americans have died from alcohol-related causes, and a new study reveals how those deaths have surged recently.

William Brangham takes a closer look.

 

William Brangham:

The CDC issued this new report, and it looks at both deaths directly tied to alcohol, like cirrhosis of the liver, as well as indirect deaths, like injuries and certain types of cancer.

It found that, in just five years, alcohol-related deaths rose by 29 percent. By 2021, alcohol contributed to the deaths of more than 178,000 Americans that year. That's about 500 people a day lost because of consuming wine, beer, or other alcohol.

 

For a broader look at these findings, we're joined again by Keith Humphreys. He's a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University.

Keith, very good to have you back on the "NewsHour."

 

Were you surprised? I mean, this is your field of study. Were you surprised by these numbers and how much they had ticked upwards?

 

Keith Humphreys, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University:

Sadly, I am not.

 

We noticed during the pandemic that certain groups of the population were increasing their drinking, including drinking alone and drinking in large amounts. And, also, there's been a long-term trend. Although cost of living is going up for many things, it is not for alcohol. Alcohol is very cheap in the United States right now, in historical terms. And when it's cheap, Americans tend to drink more, and that's where you get, unfortunately, these kinds of really tragic numbers.

 

William Brangham:

And are those the principal drivers, low price and all the stresses associated with the pandemic?

 

Keith Humphreys:

Those two things are absolutely critical to producing this kind of increase.

 

Click on the link for the full interview

[Ball Security]

Eh, the price of alcohol hasn’t gone up with the rest of inflation? Not where I am. I don’t buy liquor enough to know, but beer and wine prices in my grocery store have gone up 30-40% since the pandemic.