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Binge drinking rises in women

8 May 2009

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Many people will be surprised to learn that young men's drinking, including binge drinking, has gone down in recent years, while middle age and older people's drinking has increased Lesley Smith, School of Health and Social Care, Oxford Brookes University.

A UK study suggests that binge drinking has doubled in women since the 1990s.

The study, commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, shows that the proportion of women who binge drink - defined in this report as drinking over six units a day - has increased from eight percent to 15 percent since 1998.

In men, the proportion of binge drinkers - defined by the researchers as drinking over eight units a day - has stayed fairly constant, increasing only slightly from 22 percent to 23 percent.

Researchers from Oxford Brookes University looked at existing data on alcohol consumption in order to identify drinking trends in the UK.

Surprisingly, they found a decrease in binge drinking in younger men. The proportion of men binge drinking between the ages of 16 and 24 fell from 39 percent in 1998 to 30 percent in 2006. However, among women in the same age group, there was a rise from 24 percent to 25 percent.

Binge drinking in middle age and among older ages was found to have risen in both men and women.

"Much concern has been expressed in recent years about young people's drinking - and young people binge drinking in particular," said lead author Lesley Smith, from the School of Health and Social Care, Oxford Brookes University.

"Many people will be surprised to learn that young men's drinking, including binge drinking, has gone down in recent years, while middle age and older people's drinking has increased."

The report also found that fewer children are drinking alcohol. However, those that do drink, appear to be drinking more.

Don Shenker, Chief Executive of Alcohol Concern UK, told the Bupa Health Information Team: "There's a direct link between alcohol consumption and how much harm is caused. Rising consumption among pre-teens can mean the country's storing up health problems for the future.

"While the attention paid to binge drinking and town centre disorder is important, there's a crucial need to tackle the hidden harms caused by alcohol for older people, women and children."

Some common drinks and their units:

  • One standard (568ml) pint of beer = 2.8 units.
  • One 330ml bottle of an alcopop = 1.4 units.
  • One standard (175ml) glass of wine = 2.1 units.

Key facts

  • Men are recommended to drink no more than three to four units of alcohol a day.
  • Women are recommended to drink no more than two to three units of alcohol a day.