At any high school party, there most likely will be alcohol. Of course, the legal drinking age is 21, but according to the U.S. Department of Health, in 2002 and 2003, “there were approximately 7.2 million persons under the legal drinking age” who drank alcohol. What is it about drinking alcohol that causes so many underage Americans to break the law? Reasons may vary , but most teens drink because of peer pressure and the desire to fit in.
Health risks
There are obviously many risks that one takes when one drinks, underage or not.
Alcohol is a considered a depressant and “it slows the functions of the central nervous system." It is still not known how alcohol affects memory and learning skills of those who drink heavily as a teens. Drinking can also be related to poor performance in school.
Alcohol affects the liver. Some damage to the liver has been found in teens who drink. This can be increased in adolescents who are overweight or obese.
Drinking alcohol during teen years may affect hormone balance in males and females, necessary for development of organs, muscles, bones and possibly of the reproductive system.
People who drink alcohol at an early age are at higher risk of having drinking problems later in life.
It’s well accepted that alcohol is a drug. If you overdose, you can get alcohol poisoning which causes vomiting, extreme sleepiness, unconsciousness, difficulty breathing, dangerously low blood sugar, seizures and possibly death.
Being underage is reason enough not to drink, and underage drinking is illegal. Also, alcohol is a highly addictive substance, and over-consumption can happy quickly. Most teens have not learned their limits yet, and drink more than their bodies can handle, which results in alcohol poisoning (explained above.)
In addition, alcohol can lead to fatal car accidents, which puts the teen at risk as well as those unknowing drivers around him or her. It does not take much alcohol to impair driving ability. In addition, teens who drink die from homicide, suicide and other accidents. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism - Alcohol Alert
Aside from getting sick, and breaking the law, another fact about drinking is that all alcoholic beverages (even the “light” kinds) contain many calories and carbohydrates. Let’s look at the calories and carbohydrates in beer:
| Brand Name |
Calories |
Carbohydrates (g)
|
|
Budweiser
|
145
|
10.6
|
|
Coors Light
|
102
|
5
|
|
Miller
|
143
|
13.1
|
|
Michelob
|
155
|
13.3
|
|
Heineken
|
150
|
11.5
|
|
Corona
|
148
|
14
|
And here’s just a look at a few cocktails:
| Types |
Calories |
Carbohydrates (g) |
| Gin and Tonic |
200 |
4 |
| Bloody Mary |
180 |
4 |
| Margarita |
up to 500 |
up to 10 |
| Long Island Iced Tea |
up to 550 |
up to 11 |
As you can see calorie ranges vary.
Melissa Ohlson, MS, RD, Nutrition Program Coordinator of Preventive Cardiology says that “in addition to the health risks, drinking alcohol tacks on a lot of extra calories.” It takes a lot of exercise to work off all of the calories.
So, why drink alcoholic beverages and intake all of these calories when for the same amount of calories you could treat yourself to chocolate or ice cream?
Besides the weight-gain factor of alcohol, drinking also can potentially cause many long-term health problems. More than 2 million Americans have been diagnosed with alcohol-related liver disease. You could get alcoholic hepatitis (inflammation of the liver), alcoholic cirrhosis (scarring of the liver), or liver cancer. Drinking can also cause heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, and different types of cancer (esophagus, mouth, throat and larynx (voice box). Lastly, drinking can potentially cause pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas).
Drinking alcohol puts people at risk for many other things as well such as injury, assault, unsafe sex, car accidents, vandalism, property damage, and many others.
So, before you drink - take this message to heart - and to your health!
To see statistics, and learn more about drinking please visit:
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If you are concerned about how your alcohol use is affecting your health and your relationships with others, learn more about the Cleveland Clinic Alcohol and Drug Recovery Center's (ADRC) Adolescent Treatment Program
