Citation
(2009), "Women and alcohol", Nutrition & Food Science, Vol. 39 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/nfs.2009.01739cab.006
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2009, Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Women and alcohol
Article Type: Food facts From: Nutrition & Food Science, Volume 39, Issue 3.
Forget lager louts and unruly teenage binge drinkers. The most irresponsible group where alcohol abuse is concerned is 30- and 40-something women, say researchers from Cardiff University.
The research team quizzed and breathalysed 1,200 late-night drinkers and discovered no less than half of the women tested had drank more than the recommended daily amount of six units of alcohol around two large glasses of wine.
According to the research team's leader, Dr Simon Moore, the further the women were into their 30s and 40s, the higher the alcohol content in their blood suggesting that, besides ignoring health warnings about drinking too much booze, not all women get wiser as they get older.
Men, on the other hand, are getting better at taking on board the health messages of responsible drinking, with only a third tested by the survey team having exceeded their recommended daily amount of eight alcohol units.
Indeed, experts believe that men reach a peak for drinking alcohol around the age of 29, but this latest report suggests women drink more as they get older. The Cardiff University survey also discovered that women are also much less likely to remember how many units of alcohol they had been drinking with experts blaming the ever-increasing sizes of wine glasses for making it difficult for women to keep track.
Some hospitals and alcohol addiction clinics have also been quoted as having noticed an increase in the number of women in their 30s and 40s receiving treatment for drink problems. And according to figures published in The Times more women are being arrested for drinking offences, including being drunk and incapable.