Alcohol consumption is defined as the intake of alcoholic beverages. Alcohol consumption is associated with a number of health risks such as chronic diseases and injuries, as well as certain harms associated specifically with underage drinking. Children and youth who drink alcohol are more likely to have poorer school performance and social problems.[1] They are also more likely to have unwanted, unplanned or unprotected sex.[1]
Youth who report binge drinking in the last year |
About the MeasureThis measure is collected from the Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (WDG) Youth Survey that gathers self-reported well-being data from grade 7 and 10 students. The survey asks students how many times they participated in binge drinking, defined as five or more drinks on one occasion, in the last year. One alcoholic drink is defined as: 12 ounces of regular strength beer (5%), 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of liquor.[1] Key FindingsAcross the three Youth Survey cycles, rates of binge drinking have declined. More grade 10 than grade 7 students reported binge drinking in the last year. Not included in the graph, students in Guelph reported less binge drinking in the past year (13.3%) than students in Wellington (20.5%) and Dufferin (21.2%). Gender and municipal level data can be found in the downloadable Excel file at the bottom of this page.
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Source: WDG Youth Survey, 2011-12, 2014-15 and 2017-18. WDG Report Card Coalition. Last updated August 2, 2018.
LimitationsThe WDG Youth Survey collects self-reported data and is subject to response and recall bias. Rates of binge drinking may also be underreported, as alcohol consumption is not legal for youth and underage drinking is viewed as socially unacceptable.
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[1] Association of Public Health Epidemiologists in Ontario. (2015). Underage alcohol drinking. Available at: http://core.apheo.ca/index.php?pid=121