Women are drinking more than ever, leading to more health issues

What you probably already know: Women are drinking significantly more alcohol than they used to, and it has doctors concerned. This is particularly true among women in their 30s and 40s, who are 60% more likely to report binge drinking than women of that same age in the early-to-mid 1990s, according to the journal Addiction. The result is higher rates of liver diseases among women, as well as a rise in breast cancer rates, even while other cancer rates are declining.

Why? While alcohol consumption is down among teenagers and young adults, it’s declining faster among boys than girls, and that remains true as they age. High-income, college-educated women who were exposed to binge drinking in college and now have disposable income, are one of the fastest-growing groups of drinkers. Women who have two-to-three drinks a day are 20% more likely to develop breast cancer than those who don’t drink at all, and even once-a-day drinkers increase their cancer risk by up to 10%, according to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Researchers think the link between alcohol and breast cancer may be closely tied to the weight gain that results from overconsumption, which can drive up estrogen and insulin levels, both of which encourage cell growth.

What it means: The rise of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic could help curb some of the issues. Early studies suggest that over nine weeks of treatment, patients significantly reduced their alcohol consumption and weren’t experiencing cravings like they did before taking the drug. Meanwhile, alcohol companies have taken notice and are increasingly advertising their brands to women. Companies from Jameson to Budweiser have developed ads and entire brands aimed at women.

What happens now? Non-alcoholic drinks took off after the pandemic, when many people started trying to curb their drinking. These were particularly popular among women and the concept of being “sober curious” took off. Athletic Brewing is now a $100 million business, and the array of non-alcoholic cocktails on offer seems to increase by the day. Reducing alcohol consumption can have both immediate and long-term health benefits. It can improve sleep, result in weight loss, improve the immune system and improve cell regrowth, which both reduces the risk of cancer while also improving your skin.