Female university students are more likely to binge drink than their male classmates, according to a recent study by the University of Vigo in Spain.
The study, which was conducted on 985 randomly-picked students, showed that 56.1 per cent of women surveyed were binge drinkers, as opposed to 41.3 per cent of men.
However the study found that on average men tend to drink more, but at a slower rate.
The study defined binge drinking as five or more drinks in two hours for men, and four or more drinks in two hours for women.
Ashley Honey, a second-year French major at Carleton University, said she wasn’t surprised with the research findings. She said she thinks that work ethic may be an influence.
“Females do all their work then let loose, while males drink constantly,” she said.
Tyler Girard, a first-year social work and political science student at the University of Windsor, said he agrees.
“The girls I know at least tend to drink way more and a lot faster than all the guys. The girls seem to drink to get drunk, whereas the guys tend to take it slower and take advantage of the social setting,” Girard said.
The study also noted other health-related gender differences.
The study found that men were slightly more likely to exercise: 51.2 per cent of women did not meet the recommended daily amount of exercise, compared to 41.7 per cent of men.
Of the people who did meet the recommended amount of exercise, men were more likely to plan when they worked out (38.6 per cent) compared to only 20.9 per cent of women.
However, men were more likely to use illegal drugs, with 44.9 per cent of males and 30.9 per cent of females using them, according to the study.
