Alcohol and the Indian physique

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Per capita consumption of alcohol per week, state-wise(All figures in ml.), Source: NSSO data 2011-12; alcohol includes toddy, country liquor, beer, foreign/refined liquor, wine; Graphic courtesy: India Today

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Alcohol and the Indian physique

Drinking good for you? Not if you’re an Indian

Kounteya Sinha

Times of India

New Delhi: Did you think a peg or two would do wonders for your heart? Unfortunately, not if you’re Indian. The largest-ever study to investigate the link between alcohol consumption and heart disease among Indians has made an interesting revelation — even small amounts of alcohol consumption harms Indians.

The study covering 4,400 drinkers and an almost equal number of non-drinkers in 10 cities by doctors from AIIMS, Centre for Chronic Diseases, Public Health Foundation of India and Madras Diabetes Research Foundation has challenged the much touted cardiac benefits of alcohol and warned of potential harm to Indians due to drinking.

The study categorized drinkers in three brackets —heavy drinkers (who consumed more than 28 grams per day), moderate drinkers (14-28 grams per day) and light drinkers (less than 14 grams a day. While light drinkers had a 40% greater risk of CHD compared to non-drinkers, the chances were as high as 60% among moderate drinkers and nearly 100% in heavy drinkers. One drink was equivalent to 14 grams of alcohol (equivalent to 120 ml of wine, 285 ml of beer and 30 ml of spirits).

Dr Ambuj Roy, assistant professor of cardiology at AIIMS, told TOI, “Benefits of moderate alcohol consumption have been found among southern European populations from the Mediterranean region and Caucasians in Europe and North America. However, in Indians, it clearly causes harm just like in African Americans.”

Alcohol consumption in India

The Times of India, May 17 2015

Sumitra DebRoy

At 55%, India records 3rd highest increase in alcohol consumption

A global study has found that alcohol consumption in India has risen by 55% over a period of 20 years.More worryingly, youngsters are being initiated to alcohol much earlier, while more women are indulging in hazardous and binge drinking. The Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) recently published a report examining the economic and health implications of alcohol use among its 34 member and a few nonmember countries. Among a list of 40 nations, India was placed as high as third, only after the Russian Federation and Estonia, for increase in alcohol intake between 1992 and 2012. Countries that closely followed India were China, Israel and Brazil. The OECD report said heavy drinking was alarmingly on the rise among youth and women in many countries. “An increasing proportion of children experience alcohol and drunkenness at early ages. Girls have caught up with boys in the past 10 years,“ it stated.

The percentage of under-15 boys who haven't had alcohol went down from 44% to 30%, while for girls it decreased from 50% to 31% in the 2000s.

The trend of heavy drinking witnessed among the young of all countries has experts worried. “It can be dangerous and have long-term effects such as habit formation or other chronic conditions,“ said hepatologist Dr Aabha Nagral, who consults with Jaslok Hospital.

Binge drinking among the youth has also been associated with increased possibilities of road accidents and disabilities in the report. Dr P C Gupta, director of Sekhsaria Institute of Public Health, quoted a WHO report which said about 30% of Indians consume alcohol, out of which 4-13% are daily consumers and up to 50% of these fall under the category of hazardous drinking.

The OECD researchers evaluated that drinkers from member states were downing an equivalent of over nine litres of pure alcohol per year, which further rose by a few units if home brewed and illegal stocks were taken into account.“All of this amounts to drinking over 100 bottles of wine, or 200 litres of beer, in a year,“ the report stated. Interestingly , Indians featured much lower here as average consumption of pure alcohol hovered around 2.5-3 litres annually .

The findings have set alarm bells ringing within the medical fraternity and health activists who are demanding a national policy to curb alcohol use.