Binge Drinking May Be a Bone Breaker for Teens

Teenagers who engage in binge drinking could be upping their risk of developing osteoporosis later in life, a new animal study suggests.

The Daily Mail reported July 15 that researchers found that adolescent rats given large doses of alcohol suffered genetic damage in areas related to bone formation. “Lifestyle-related damage done to the skeleton during young adulthood may have repercussions lasting decades,” said researcher John Callaci of Loyola University Health System in Chicago.

The rats were fed alcohol to raise their blood-alcohol level to the equivalent of 0.28 percent, more than three times the presumptive legal limit for intoxication in the U.S. Rats were made drunk for three days in a row to simulate acute binge drinking or three straight days for four weeks to simulate chronic binge drinking.

The findings were published in the July-August 2010 issue of the journal Alcohol and Alcoholism.