Scientists have found: it is better to drink a little alcohol every day than to get drunk once a week

safe dose of alcohol does not exist, but still the risks caused by it largely depend on how much and how often a person drinks. A new study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine reveals a feature that has received little attention in the past. People who in other studies are usually classified as moderate drinkers, in fact, are often prone to binge drinking and additional health problems.

The fact is that scientists, when collecting data, usually take into account the amount of alcohol that survey participants and experiments are used weekly, ignoring the problems of infrequent use of large amounts alcohol. Thus, a person who drinks 7 drinks every Saturday is considered a moderate drinker - just like a person who drinks a glass of wine every evening.

Scientists from Texas and Stanford Universities analyzedBinge Drinking and Alcohol Problems Among Moderate Average-Level Drinkers / American Journal of Preventing Medicine

the results of an earlier study conducted by their colleagues in 2004-2015. During these 9 years, scientists observed 1,229 volunteers who regularly consumed alcohol.

Participants were classified as moderate and heavy drinkers, with moderate drinking defined as an average of one drink per day. Representatives of the moderate group were asked how often they drink more than 5 alcoholic drinks per day. It turned out that 70% do it weekly. This suggests that they consume the entire weekly dose of alcohol in one sitting.

Such preferences do not go unnoticed. Drinkers who drink a lot at once have a 5 times higher risk of alcohol-related health problems compared to people who drink a little alcohol regularly. At the same time, the risk of developing new problems after 9 years is twice as high. These results highlight that average consumption alone does not adequately reflect the risk of drinking.

The authors noted that current measures to prevent alcohol dependence are mainly aimed at on the younger generation, while the problem of drinking in people over 30 is given undeservedly little attention.