[jncfhnb]

> A recent study shows that on any given day, just 12% of people in the US account for half of all beef consumed in the US.

This phrasing strongly suggests it’s not the same 12% every day. In which case… it’s probably not that noteworthy.

[glenstein]

The phrasing strongly suggests exactly the opposite. Essentially, the whole framing of the linked guardian article is that there is a specific population which are the "disproportionate beef eaters".

[yxwvut]

And from the study linked, that framing/suggestion would be incorrect (at least for the numbers given). "the 12% are not the same every day" is an accurate interpretation. They asked about what people ate _yesterday_...

[glenstein]

Again, the whole premise of the article is that there really is such a thing as disproportionate beef eaters (DBE), and it spends time talking about this group explicitly. So the wording doesn't suggest otherwise, it explicitly suggests this is a real group.

Regarding the study this is a both can be true situation. There can be (1) a population who is disproportionate in their beef eating, and (2) a study about 12% doing the most on any given day can count in favor of that group being real and (3) not everyone from the daily 12% is part of the DBE group. It's more likely a venn diagram overlap, and where it doesn't overlap, people who aren't part of the DBE are incidentally in that 12% while being closer to average in the aggregate over the longer term. Those facts can all sit together comfortably without amounting to a contradiction.

[kelipso]

They can both be true but 12% of people eat 50% of beef on any given day implies that way more than 12% of people eat 50% of beef on any given year.

Like, it’s probably something closer to 40% than 12%.

[jncfhnb]

The phrasing you’re looking for is that 12% of Americans consume an average of 50% of beef consumed every day.

By saying “on any given day” you are suggesting it’s a different 12%. The article does confuse this by identifying cohorts that eat more beef. But it’s a tautological label based on the survey data. They identify some correlates, like being a 50 something male. But there are males who are 50 something that don’t eat any beef. They’re not included in the 12%.

The 12% is just the outcome of the sample. It doesn’t mean they’re a consistent cohort.

Example:

* on any given day x million women give birth

* there are x million women who give birth every day

[immibis]

is it normal, in the USA, for half of all people to only eat beef once every 8 days?

They also found a demographic correlation, which isn't easily explained by random sampling.

[jncfhnb]

> is it normal, in the USA, for half of all people to only eat beef once every 8 days?

Thats not the implication of 12% of Americans eating 50% of beef by consumed by all Americans that day.

If I had to make up some numbers it’s probably that, on any random day, 12% of Americans ate 50% of the beef (a large burger), 28% of American ate the rest of the beef (bit of lunch meat), and 60% of Americans did not eat any beef.