Bridget Jones is a cultural icon thanks to the romantic comedy movie franchise, but if people took her lifestyle as inspiration they might be in for a rude awakening
The real Bridget Jones would risk an early death inflicted by the huge amounts of chardonnay, ciggies and calories she puts away, fun-sponge boffs warn.
Renée Zellweger, 55, is back on screens playing the chardonnay-chugging, chain-smoking, cheese-guzzling singleton famed for her at-home drink sessions as she sings along to Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Survive. The actress even found time to comfort Kate Garraway during a GMB interview.
But experts have now declared the character wouldn’t survive her relentless consumption of booze, nicotine, dairy and spuds.
They have broken down her deadly diet – and the calories she consumes – by auditing her eponymous diary, written by author Helen Fielding before it was turned into a movie franchise. Entries about her meals include descriptions of her guzzling “two packets of Emmental cheese” and “14 cold potatoes” as she battled to stick to diet regimes.
Eggheads have also pointed out how Bridget batters her organs and brain with 3,836 units of booze in a single year. They also worked out she puffed through 5,277 cigarettes and consumed what she calls a “repulsive” 11million calories in the 12-month period readers were first introduced to the struggling singleton.
Her drink intake is the equivalent of 74 booze units a week – more than five times the recommended NHS amount. Dan Baumgardt, a senior lecturer in physiology, pharmacology and neuroscience at the University of Bristol, has declared her alcohol consumption alone could lead to “untimely death by chardonnay”.
Boffs audited Bridget’s potentially fatal intake using the first of her diaries written by writer Helen. Their warning could put a dampener on things for fans flocking to see Renée play her again in the fourth Bridget Jones film, Mad About The Boy, which hit cinemas on Friday.
Mr Baumgardt warned about her character’s reckless habits: “Smoking is notorious for causing cancer, including lung, bladder, kidney and stomach cancers. Smoking also negatively affects cardiovascular health and fertility, and causes gum disease and a variety of other health issues. The list is long.”
The expert also calculated Bridget’s 15-a-day smoking habit risked exposing her to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease – a lung condition with drastic symptoms including persistent coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath. But he praised the portrayal of Bridget in the fourth installment of the Jones movie series as she appears slightly healthier and wiser.
For example, Mad About The Boy sees her switching to nicotine patches. Her first diary also opens with the pledge she will not drink more than 14 units of alcohol a week – and she does manage to notch up 114 hangover-free days throughout the year of her debut entries.
Mr Baumgardt also praised her recognition she was drinking too much and a New Year resolution to cut back.
He said: “In clinical practice we might ask if the person is annoyed by criticism of their drinking or feels guilty about it. Do they use alcohol as an ‘eye-opener’ in the morning?
“It’s probably for the best that her lifestyle seems a bit healthier. It would have been awful to have her story end with untimely death by chardonnay.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
