Here's why women get drunk faster than men

• Women generally reach a higher blood alcohol concentration than men after consuming the same amount of alcohol.

• Lower average body-water levels, body composition and differences in alcohol absorption and processing contribute to this.

• Food, body size, drinking speed, medications, hormones and individual tolerance also affect how quickly someone becomes intoxicated.

Have you ever noticed that a woman and a man can drink the same amount of alcohol, yet the woman appears to feel its effects sooner?

There is a biological explanation for this, although it is important to note that not every woman will become intoxicated faster than every man. How quickly alcohol affects someone depends on several factors, including body size, body composition, how much and how quickly they drink, whether they have eaten and their individual tolerance.

However, on average, women tend to reach a higher blood alcohol concentration (BAC) than men after consuming the same amount of alcohol.

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Here is why.

Alcohol is distributed mainly through the body's water, rather than fat.

On average, women have a higher proportion of body fat and less body water than men of the same weight. As a result, when a woman and a man of the same weight consume the same amount of alcohol, the alcohol is distributed through a smaller amount of body water in the woman's body.

This can result in a higher concentration of alcohol in her blood. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) identifies this difference in body water as one of the main reasons women tend to reach higher Blood Alcohol Concentration(BAC) levels than men after consuming the same amount.

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Body size and weight influence how alcohol is distributed throughout the body.

Men, on average, are larger and have more muscle mass and body water than women. Because alcohol is distributed primarily through body water, these differences can affect BAC.

This does not mean that a larger person can drink without consequences. The amount of alcohol consumed and the speed at which it is consumed remain important factors.

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The CDC says women generally absorb more alcohol and take longer to process it than men, contributing to higher blood alcohol levels after the same amount of alcohol.

Research has also examined differences in first-pass metabolism, the process by which some alcohol is broken down before reaching the bloodstream. Some studies have found lower gastric alcohol dehydrogenase activity in women, which may contribute to differences in alcohol levels.

However, this should not be oversimplified into saying that women's livers simply “cannot break down alcohol” as well as men's. Alcohol metabolism varies considerably between individuals.

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Whether someone has eaten recently can make a significant difference.

Alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream more quickly on an empty stomach. Eating before or while drinking can slow the rate at which alcohol enters the bloodstream, although food does not prevent alcohol from being absorbed.

So two people drinking the same amount can experience very different effects depending on whether they have eaten.

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The body begins metabolising alcohol soon after it is consumed, but alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream faster than it is metabolised.

This means that drinking several drinks in a short period can cause alcohol to accumulate in the bloodstream and push BAC higher.

The NIAAA defines binge drinking as a pattern that typically brings BAC to 0.08% or higher. For a typical adult, this corresponds to about four or more drinks for women or five or more for men within about two hours.

These figures are population-level definitions, not a guarantee that someone will or will not become intoxicated at that number of drinks.

On average, women tend to reach higher BAC levels and may experience alcohol's effects more quickly and for longer after consuming the same amount of alcohol as men.

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But sex is only one factor.

A woman's body size, how much she has eaten, how quickly she drinks, medications, hormones, genetics and previous drinking experience can all influence how alcohol affects her. The same factors can cause substantial differences among men as well.

The important point is that there is no universal number of drinks that will make everyone equally drunk. Drinking less, drinking more slowly and avoiding driving after drinking are safer approaches regardless of sex.

And because alcohol-related harm can occur at lower levels of consumption in women, the difference is not simply about who “gets drunk first.” Research also shows that women can develop certain alcohol-related health problems at lower levels of alcohol exposure than men.