According to a new global study published by medical journal The Lancet, it has been revealed that young people under 40 are at more significant risk of health problems than their older counterparts when drinking alcohol. The report mentions that young adults in the 15-39 age bracket do not have any health benefits when gulping alcoholic drinks.
0.136 standard drinks per day is the recommended amount of alcohol for people in the aforementioned age group, according to the journal. As for the age group above 40, it was advised that individuals having no underlying health complications could benefit from moderate drinking.
The safe alcohol consumption levels for individuals aged 40-64 ranged from 0.527 drinks for males to 0.562 standard drinks per day for females. However, the range could be extended to almost two standard drinks i.e 1.69 standard drinks per day for males and 1.82 for females as it reduced the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke and diabetes.
Reportedly, alcohol alone was the cause of over 1.78 million deaths in 2020. It was attributed to being the leading cause of mortality in the 15-49 age group. Therefore, the journal recommended that stronger interventions were required for this particular age demographic to reduce global health loss.
The study was based on alcohol consumption data collated from 204 countries, with individuals, both males and females, aged between 15-95 years, segregated into five-year age groups. The research revealed that in the year 2020 alone,1.34 billion people consumed harmful amounts of alcohol.
