Effects of alcohol on women
Alcohol presents huge health challenges for women. Alcohol affect woman grossly compared to men. Alcohol affects health and safety of women. Evidence shows that alcohol impacts on the fertility of women, increase risk of contracting breast cancer. According to Yoshinda (2013), alcohol is associated with a number of side effects of menopause. On average, women weigh less than men. This infers that women have less tissue that absorbs alcohol. Women are also less able to dilute alcohol because of the higher fat to water ratio within their bodies. This explains why women tend to have higher alcohol concentration in their blood compared to men even after consuming the same alcohol amount. According to Johnston (2013), alcohol tends stay long in the system of women before processing (metabolism) than in men. This is due to the lower alcohol dehydrogenase level, the metabolizing chemical.
According to Armstrong (2003), alcohol has adverse effects on women. These effects range from, liver damage, brain damage, breast cancer, heart disease, and traffic crashes. For these reasons, women are advised not to consume much alcohol as they are more vulnerable to the adverse effects compared to men (Johnston 21). Other studies such as Boyle (2013) have pointed out low fertility and poor sexual performance as effects of alcohol on women. Alcohol acts as a host of health conditions and increases chances of contracting breast cancer.
The drinking pattern among women differs from that of men, particularly when it regards the kinds of amounts, beverages, and frequency. The body of a woman reacts uniquely to alcohol consumption. Due to this, women are exposed to unique health realities and risks. Women are advised to be informed and much aware of the related risks on their health associated with alcohol consumption, most particularly because majority of women occasionally drink, while many consume huge amounts of alcohol (Boyle 56-58).
Evidence shows that a woman is likely to start experiencing problems and health risks related to health at a very low level of alcohol consumption than that of men. This is illustrated through assertions that women have lower weights than men. Additionally, alcohol is dispersed in water in the body, pound for pound, and as Boyle (2013) suggests, there is less water in women’s body compared to that in men. This infers that after a woman and a man with the same weight consume alcohol of the same amount, the blood concentration of alcohol in the woman will be higher than that of the man. This puts the woman at a greater risk, susceptible to health problems more than the man. In addition, the adverse impacts of alcohol in women are also attributed by the biological differences such as hormones (Eber 35-36).
According to Yoshinda (2013), women who consume alcohol are more likely to develop liver inflammation (alcoholic hepatitis) than men who consume similar amount of alcohol. Evidence shows that liver inflammation leads to cirrhosis. Chronic alcohol consumption by women results in heart disease. In contrary to men, women are more likely to contract alcohol related diseases of the heart. This fact stands even though women are reportedly consuming less alcohol than men. According to Eber (2000), there is a close relationship between breast cancer development and alcohol consumption. Research shows that women who drink at least one drink in a day have a ten percent greater chance of developing cancer of the breast compared women who are alcohol non-consumers. Another ten percent is raised for every other drink consumed per day. Women are also advised against consuming alcohol during pregnancy, this is risky to their life. Alcohol consumption during pregnancy puts fetus at adverse risk for learning and problems concerning behavior, as well as abnormal facial features. During pregnancy, even moderate drinking may result in serious problems. Preterm labor is another adverse effect resulting from consuming alcohol during pregnancy (Armstrong 24-26).
In conclusion, alcohol increases the risks in women of developing severeconditions of health like liver disease, heart disease, reproductive problems, ulcers, pancreatitis, osteoporosis, and memory loss among other illnesses. As Eber (2000) asserts, these serious illnesses are primarily caused by alcohol abuse among women. Evidence also shows that the effects of alcohol on women is more adverse compared to men. Women are more likely to contract the liver disease, particularly hepatitis and alcoholic cirrhosis than men (Yoshinda 33).
Works Cited
Armstrong, Elizabeth M. Conceiving Risk, Bearing Responsibility: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome &
the Diagnosis of Moral Disorder. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003. Print.
Boyle, P. Alcohol: Science, Policy and Public Health. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.
Print.
Eber, Christine E. Women & Alcohol in a Highland Maya Town: Water of Hope, Water of
Sorrow. Austin: Univ. of Texas Press, 2000. Print.
Johnston, Ann D. Drink: The Intimate Relationship between Women and Alcohol. , 2013.
Yoshida, Rin. Trends in Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Research. Hauppauge, N.Y: Nova
Science Publishers, 2006. Print.
