Drinking culture in America is changing little by little.
A new study conducted by researchers at the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism suggests that the drinking habits of men and women are starting to overlap, according to NBC News.
“Males still consume more alcohol, but the differences between men and women are diminishing," said Aaron White of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), who looked at data from 2002 to 2012 for the study.
Over the course of the decade, the percentage of women who reported drinking alcohol in the past 30 days increased from 45 percent to 48 percent, according to LiveScience. The percentage decreased for men, going from 57 percent to 56 percent, according to the findings published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.
Women were reportedly found to consume alcohol more days out of the month, going from 6.8 days to 7.3 days on average. Men drank fewer days, going down from 9.9 days to 9.5 days.
The recent report also explored patterns of binge drinking.
The percentage of women who reported binge drinking significantly increased while the percentage of men who reported binge drinking significantly decreased among 18- to 25-year-olds who were not in college.
Researchers have reportedly noted that heavy drinking takes a big toll on one’s body. Women may not want to catch up to men when it comes to drinking.
“In the United States, males drink more often and more heavily than females, consuming greater than twice as much alcohol per year (18 liters of pure alcohol for males, 7.8 liters for females)," the NIAAA team wrote.
“Excessive drinking caused 87,797 deaths annually from 2006 to 2010, of which two-thirds of decedents were males (62,104 males vs. 25,693 females).”