VIGO, Spain, Jan. 1 (UPI) -- Female university students get drunk -- on purpose -- more quickly than their male counterparts, researchers in Spain said.
Study Co-author Jose M. Cancela Carral of the University of Vigo said researchers from the HealthyFit group studied university students' lifestyles.
Their analysis included alcohol and illegal drug consumption habits, sports and food. The researchers concluded most students indulged in unhealthy behavior.
The study, published by the Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, also found 51.2 percent lead a sedentary lifestyle, while the percentage in males was 41.7 percent. When analyzing students who maintain an appropriate level of physical activity, 38.6 percent of males do physical exercise, as opposed to only 20.9 percent of women.
"The amount drunk per unit of time was higher among women," Cancela Carral said in a statement.
In other words, even though male students drink more often, females do so more intensively in shorter periods of time, which is known as binge drinking, Cancela Carral said.
"We were also surprised by the high consumption of illegal drugs among university students -- 44.9 percent of men and 30.9 percent of women -- which we understand could lead to significant future health problems, mainly related to the nervous system," the researchers said.
