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Consequences: Introduction

Impaired Brain Development

Slowed Motor Skills

Difficulty Learning New Concepts/Ideas

Hindered Decision-Making Abilities

Weakened Athletic Performance

Health-Related Issues

Alcoholism as Adults

Legal Repercussions

Center for Applied Research Solutions (CARS)

Evaluation, Management and Training Associates (EMT)

Alcopops Summary Report

Facts On Adolescent Binge Drinking › Consequences › Health-Related Issues

Health-Related Issues

Heavy drinking during the teenage years begins taking a serious health toll by the time individuals reach age 24. People who began binge drinking at age 13 and continued throughout adolescence were nearly four times as likely to be overweight or obese and almost 3½ times as likely to have high blood pressure when they were 24 years old than were people who never or rarely drank heavily during adolescence. Research found four distinct patterns or trajectories of binge drinking among teenagers. They are:

  • Chronic binge drinkers (3%), who started at age 13 and continued to binge drink between three and five times a month through age 18.
  • Escalators (4%), who began drinking around age 15 and their bingeing increased sharply and continuously until they were binge drinking nearly 10 times monthly by age 18.
  • Late onsetters (23%), who started drinking after age 16 and averaged two bingeing episodes a month by age 18.
  • Non-binge drinkers (70%) never or rarely engaged in binge drinking between ages 13 and 18.

Participants in a research study were interviewed annually starting at ages 13 through16, and again at ages 18, 21 and 24. They were asked about their alcohol, tobacco and drug use. At 24, they were asked about such health-related behaviors as safe driving, use of seat belts in automobiles, and regular exercise. In addition, they had their blood pressure checked twice and were questioned about having any of eighteen illnesses or health conditions, including asthma or emphysema, high blood pressure, arthritis, diabetes, cancer and heart disease, in the past year.

The results showed that young adults' history of binge drinking during the teenage years, irrespective of current levels of binge drinking, appeared to have serious effects on their health by age 24. The study also found the following:

  • Late onsetters were 50% more likely to have been ill in the past year as young adults who did not drink heavily as teens. They were also 50% more likely to drive drunk or high on drugs or to ride or drive with someone who was drunk or high than were non-heavy drinkers.
  • Escalators, who reported the highest levels of binge drinking by age 18, also engaged in more unsafe driving practices than non-heavy drinkers. According to an earlier study by the research team, this group also engaged in very high levels of anti-social behavior, including drug use and crime.


References


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