More and more young people choose not to drink alcohol

In England, young people do not just drink less alcohol. A new study published in BMC Public Health shows that more of them never consume alcohol and that this increase is widespread among young people.

Researchers from University College London analyzed the data from the annual health survey conducted in England and found that the proportion of people aged 16 to 24 who did not drink alcohol from 18% in 2005 to 29% in 2015.

The authors found that this trend was largely due to an increasing number of people who had never drunk alcohol, rising from 9% in 2005 to 17% in 2015. The number of young people who have exceeded the recommended limits also fell sharply. 43% to 28%) or who drank excessively (27% to 18%). More and more young people were practicing weekly abstinence (35% to 50%)

Linda Ng Fat, corresponding author of the study, said: "There has been an increase in alcohol consumption among youth in a wide range of groups, including those living in the north or south from England, among the white population The fact that the increase in non-alcohol consumption has been found in many different groups suggests that non-consumption of alcohol may become more common among young people, which could be caused by cultural factors. "

Dr. Ng Fat said, "These trends need to be welcomed from a public health perspective.The factors that influence the abandonment of alcohol consumption should be exploited so that more consumption behaviors healthy are still encouraged among young people. "

Dr. Linda Ng Fat added, "The increase in the number of young people who choose not to drink alcohol suggests that this behavior may become more acceptable, while risky behaviors, such as the excessive consumption of alcohol, are less and less standardized. "

However, increases in alcohol consumption did not occur among ethnic minorities, people with poor mental health and smokers, suggesting that risk behaviors related to smoking and alcohol continue to regroup.

The researchers examined data collected from 9,699 people aged 16 to 24 as part of the 2005-2015 England Health Survey, a nationally representative cross-sectional annual survey that focused on the changing health and lifestyle of the people of England. The authors analyzed the proportion of non-drinkers among the subgroups of demographics and health, as well as the units of alcohol consumed by those who consumed them and the levels of excessive alcohol consumption.

The authors emphasize that the cross-sectional and observational nature of this study does not allow conclusions to be drawn about the causes and effects.

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More information:
Linda Ng Fat et al., Investigating the growing trend of not drinking in youth; analysis of repeated cross-sectional surveys in England 2005-2015, BMC Public Health (2018). DOI: 10.1186 / s12889-018-5995-3