Take a hard look at your life. Now, take a hard look at this chart.
“This is what your life looks like as seen through the lens of what you drink, according to new research published in the journal BMC Medicine,” writes The Washington Post‘s Wonkblog.
For the average man (we’re not talking alcoholics or teetotalers), alcohol consumption peaks at age 25 at around 13 drinks per week, according to the study. Women drink less than men, peaking at a little less than 4 drinks per week.
It should be noted that the authors of the study analyzed folks from the U.K. (and not the U.S.). A chart of American lifetime alcohol consumption would look somewhat different, due to the fact that there are a lot more non-drinkers in the U.S. than in the U.K., and Americans drink less than Brits overall.
No matter if you’re English or American, the findings of the study are fascinating. Here’s some more fun facts about an average person’s life in booze:
- “Frequent drinking (daily or most days of the week) became more common during mid to older age, most notably among men.”
- “Non-drinkers were uncommon, particularly among men, where the proportion remained under 10% until old age, when it rose to above 20% among those aged over 90,”
Another fun finding: Older men and women don’t binge drink the same way college kids do, so their overall consumption is lower. But they do drink more frequently. We assume that’s the result of trying to battle those awful hangovers you start getting when you hit 25.
[via Wonkblog]