“Our message is simple: alcohol consumption is disastrous for young people. On the other hand, in adults over 40 years of age, reasonable consumption might have positive effects on health. This is what the Dr Emmanuel Gakidoulead author of a study conducted from the University of Washington in Seattle, published in The Lancet and which le Guardian echoes.
In a 40-year-old individual who has no health problems, drinking an occasional glass of red wine would have benefits: it would help reduce the risk of ischemic heart disease, stroke or diabetes. However, to be able to benefit from it, alcohol consumption must remain low, namely no more than the equivalent of 1.87 glasses of red wine or beer per day on average.
Alcohol strongly discouraged for young people
The same is not true for young people. The study reveals that 59% of people for whom alcohol consumption represents a danger are aged 15 to 39 years old. Not only would consuming alcohol not have any health benefits, but it would also cause a large number of injuries, car accidents, suicides or murders.
Another interesting discovery of this study: three quarters of young people whose health is negatively impacted by alcohol are men. The scientists also reveal that the risk threshold not to be crossed in one’s alcohol consumption would be different depending on the sex of the person. Among men aged 15 to 39, it is 0.136 standard drinks per day – the word “glass” here designating 100 ml of red wine at 13% alcohol or 375 ml of beer at 3.5% – while among women of the same age this figure is 0.273. That is, respectively, regarding four and eight glasses per month.
“Although we are aware that young people will not change their behavior in a snap of their fingers and stop consuming alcohol, we believe that it is important that these scientific results are known to everyone to help everyone take the good decisions”, concludes Dr. Emmanuela Gakidou.