It's Official, Your GP Does Know When You're Fibbing About How Much Booze You Drink

Have you ever wondered while shaking the last dregs from a reasonably priced bottle of red that you purloined from your barely existing booze cabinet, how many units of alcohol have I just drank today? Nope, me neither. But anyway, turns out your GP knows exactly what you are up to. Yep. Doctors can tell when tell you're lying about how much you drink. Fact is, in most cases, people drink twice as much as they admit to their GP. Let's be real though, are you that shocked?

A recent study done by Direct Line Insurance revealed that people are not super honest when it comes to what they are imbibing, as reported by The Times. So much so that when doctors ask patients how many units they drink a week, GPs double the units on their patients' files. So, when you go for your next trip to the doctors for something completely unrelated and they ask that question that makes your skin crawl, in the same way hearing about your parents having sex does, there is no point in lying.

Doctors are super smart and trust me, they know exactly what you are up to and basically, lying is dumb AF. Yep, just like you've been told since you were a kid, telling fibs is not the best idea, especially when it comes to your health.

In the study, GPs said that only 40 percent of their patients are telling the truth, whole truth, and nothing but the truth concerning how many units they are taking on board. The not-so-shocking (in my opinion) research found that they use what is referred to as an "alcohol multiplier" when gauging how many drinks you are guzzling per week. This alcohol multiplier is basically doubling what people have said. I know right, how brutal is that? And apparently, the most likely to lie about it are women under 30, making this study an even more bitter pill (or pint of bitter) to swallow because that is, well, my group of people.

Uh oh, this is concerning and a pretty harsh truth and reality for a great deal of us. The study is made up of research taken within the last year from 191 doctors coupled with "a nationally representative sample of 2,008 adults."

After being quizzed by medical professionals, many excuses were put forward as to why they weren't quite so honest about their beverage intake. These excuses were kind of exactly what you might expect, may have heard before, or maybe even have put forward yourself in the past. You ready for a big old glass of reality? OK, me neither, but let's do this together.

So, why are people telling porkies to their GPs? Turns out, 20 percent of those in the study were straight to the point when they said that they simply never keep track of how much they drink, therefore, weren't able o give a completely honest answer. Meanwhile, 16 percent of people in the study used the excuse that everybody "misrepresents how much they consume." Apparently, 14 percent "were worried their doctor would judge them." Hmm, or they are trying to help you? But I guess we all know that feeling. This is coupled with the 9 percent that said "I was embarrassed about how much I drink."

What is super concerning health-wise is that 14 percent of participants didn't tell the truth about their drinking habits because they didn't feel it was relevant. That's actually pretty scary because it may mean they do not know the damage alcohol can do.

The remaining 10 percent said "I was concerned the doctor would attribute the problem I came in for to alcohol."

This study found that a stonking one in five people in the UK openly admit that they often drink more than the recommended amount.

Jane Morgan, business manager at Direct Line Insurance commented:

"Most of us enjoy a drink from time to time, but no matter how much alcohol you consume, it’s important to be honest with your doctor about it. Without all the correct information about your lifestyle you may not get the right diagnosis or treatment."

So, next time you pop into the doctors for a pretty gnarly case of athletes foot or something else that seems far from related to your drinking habits, make sure and serve only real talk. Yes, be honest because when it comes to your long term health, lying gets you absolutely nowhere.