|
|
| Why a special
section on "Alcohol and Women?" Where's the section
on "Alcohol and Men"? |
A lot of information
about alcohol is based on men, despite some important differences
in the way alcohol affects women and men. Generally speaking, women
drink less alcohol than men do. Women also drink less often than men
do and report fewer alcohol-related problems. However, women's bodies
respond to alcohol differently to men and the harms women experience
may be different. |
|
Why
are we concerned about women and alcohol?
|
| Men and women
do not respond to alcohol in the same way.Current researches
indicate that women are not as efficient "drinking machines'
as men.there are many factors that influence this difference.
|
 Body
size is the first factor. Women are, on the average, built smaller
then men. Therefore equal amounts of alcohol cause a higher
blood clot,concentration in women due to the smaller blood volume. |
|
 |
|
Body composition is the second factor. The average female body carries
more body fat than a male. Body fat contains little water. When consumed,
alcohol dilutes in water. Therefore, a female has less body water
to dilute alcohol in, causing a higher
blood alcohol concentration, even if two equally sized men and women
drink the same amount of alcohol. |
|
The third factor is a metabolizing enzyme that hepls get rid the body
of alcohol called as dehydrogenase. Women have less of this enzyme
than men do. Therefore, more of the alcohol that women drink enters
the bloodstream as pure alcohol, and stays there. |
|
Finally, a women`s response to alcohol is higher due to hormonal changes
when a woman is about to have her period, or is taking a birth control
pill. |
| For,
these reasons women can expect more impairment from alcohol than men
consuming an equal dose of alcohol. Prelilinary research suggest that
women develop problems with alcohol more quickly and severly than
men do. Therefore to reduce your risk, it suggest that women limit
their consumption to no more than one drink per hour, no more than
one drink per day, and never more than four times per week. |
| A
1995 survey by the Alcohol and Public Health Research Unit found that
4% of women reported five or more problems related to their drinking.
The problems included forgetting what they'd done when they were drinking;
needing a drink first thing in the morning; having their hands shake
a lot after drinking; feeling ashamed of what they'd done while they
were drinking; getting drunk when they needed to stay sober and having
time off work because of their drinking. Another 12% of the women
reported at least three of these problems, and not just once - some
women had problems like these more than five times in the previous
year. |
|
REMEMBER,
THIS IS NOT AN ISSUE OF EQUALITY,BUT
ONE OF HEALTH!
|
|
