From ABC Science Online, News in Science, 3 November 2008:
An Australian study has revealed for the first time the drinking habits of elite Australian football players, showing that unlike the rest of the population, AFL players do their riskiest drinking outside the football season.
It’s the first time an entire sporting code has gone under the microscope to explore alcohol use and abuse. Researchers say the results suggest an entirely different approach to alcohol education is needed among this group.
The study, published in the latest edition of the Medical Journal of Australia, found that just 2% of AFL players drank at risky levels during the sporting season compared to 15% of the general male population.
But this figure climbed to 54% at the end of the season – a period sometimes known as ‘mad Monday’.
Associate Professor Paul Dietze, an epidemiologist at the Burnet Institute in Melbourne, says the study highlights that the drinking patterns of AFL players differ significantly from those of the general population. Read more.
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freelance science journalist and author
Bianca Nogrady
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