Chinese scoffing at U.S. study linking chopsticks to arthritis

CHENGDU, China -- At table No. 6, a man and woman deftly snag the last kernels of corn from the plate. Waitress Niu Ming makes a rapid scissors motion with her right hand as she watches them.

"Chopsticks make your hands stronger," said Niu, on duty at the Old Gedou Sichuan Specialties Restaurant.

In a land where 1.3 billion people consider chopsticks, or "kuaizi," a virtual extension of the right hand, affinity for the ancient implements runs deep. That's why a new study released in the United States doesn't sit well. Its conclusion: Long-term use of chopsticks may increase the risk of arthritis.

"Arthritis? From chopsticks?" Niu scoffed. "Not likely."

In research presented this fall to the American College of Rheumatology, investigators studied 2,607 60-year-old residents of Beijing, the Chinese capital.

Dr. David Hunter, an assistant professor at the Boston University School of Medicine and the lead investigator, said in a statement that the increase in risk is small.

"Ridiculous," snapped Dr. Cao Li of Beijing's Xuanwu Hospital. "I've never seen a single case of arthritis that could be linked to chopsticks."

Yang Jianping, a Sichuanese who has never used a fork, railed against the study. "I've walked with my feet since I was born. Does that mean my feet will get arthritis?" he asked.

The study comes months after chopsticks took another hit. This year's epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome got people thinking about the custom of sharing food and dipping one's saliva-saturated chopsticks into common bowls. The solution: Don't.