FRANCE: Loud music = greater alcohol consumption

Academics in France have swapped their laboratories for cafés and pubs. In a recent study, Université de Bretagne-Sud scientists found the louder the music is in a bar, the more people drank.

Researchers observed 40 male subjects aged 18-25 in French bars on Saturday nights in a medium-sized city in western France. Sound levels of top 40 songs were randomly manipulated at either 72dB (considered normal volume) or 88dB (considered loud).

Results showed that high sound levels led to increased drinking within a decreased amount of time. Author of the study, Professor Nicolas Guéguen, believes the reason for the increased drinking is related to arousal or lack of human interaction.

"...high sound levels may have caused higher arousal, which led the subjects to drink faster and to order more drinks, loud music may have had a negative effect on social interaction in the bar, so that patrons drank more because they talked less," he said.

The research is to be published in the academic journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research in October.

monica.dobie@uw-news.com