Introduction
Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) stands for the level of measurement of an individual’s intoxication, which can then be used to determine medical treatments or the degree of inebriation in legal disputes. It is affected by many parameters, such as height, weight, gender, and individual bodily conditions and tolerances. There are several formulas for BAC; the most commonly used is the Widmark formula, which is as follows (Jones et al., 2020): BAC = [Alcohol consumed in grams / (Body weight in grams x r)] x 100. R stands for a coefficient used to account for differences between men and women in tolerance to alcohol, with r = 0.55 for women and 0.68 for men.
Calculation of Alcohol to Reach the Legal BAC Limit
For a woman weighing 175 pounds (79,379 grams) to reach the BAC of 0.08 (legal in the US), the equation looks as follows:
0.08 (BAC) = [X/(79,379 (g) x 0.55)] x 100
0.08 (BAC) = X/436.58 (g)
X = 436.58 (g) x 0.08
X = 34.93 (g)
Based on these calculations, it would require approximately 35 grams of alcohol to reach a BAC of 0.08. This may not seem like much, but 35 grams of pure, 100% alcohol may require as many as 700 grams of drinks with 5% alcohol content, such as beer, or 350 grams of 10% wine. Harder drinks, such as spirits, may help reach a BAC of 0.08 much quicker, due to having a higher concentration of alcohol in them. Reaching a BAC of 0.132, when a person’s judgment and motor skills become increasingly affected, can be calculated as follows:
0.132 (BAC) = [X/(79,379 (g) x 0.55)] x 100
0.132 (BAC) = X/436.58 (g)
X = 436.58 (g) x 0.132
X = 57.63 (g)
As it is possible to see, the amount of alcohol required to reach the upper BAC is almost twice as much. It must also be kept in mind that alcohol is not consumed within moments, but instead takes a period of time between drinks, resulting in the gradual expulsion of the substance from the body. Alcohol can be detected in blood for up to 12 hours, but most of it is absorbed or expelled within the first 6-8 hours (Hamilton, 2022). As such, an individual may take more alcohol than calculated above to reach BAC, provided they do not drink all of it at once.
Alcohol Effects on the Body
When drinking in excess, alcohol affects the body depending on how much of it courses through an individual’s body. At BAC levels of 0.08, an individual may experience reduced pain sensitivity (both physical and emotional), increased euphoria, reduced inhibition, and greater extraversion towards others (Hamilton, 2022). At the same time, their reasoning capacity is diminished, followed by reduced depth perception, peripheral vision, and glare recovery.
The situation worsens when BAC levels reach 0.132. Personality of an individual may change towards overexpression and boisterousness—chances of feeling nauseous increase exponentially, resulting in bouts of vomiting. The person may also experience decreased reflexes and reaction times, as well as loss of motor control (Hamilton, 2022). Slurred speech and temporary erectile dysfunction are some of the more embarrassing traits associated with this level of intoxication.
Individual health conditions may affect BAC levels in various ways. Individuals who have had a bariatric surgery with a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass are noted to have their peak alcohol levels increase two-fold (Argyrakopoulou et al., 2022). As a result, they can become inebriated twice as fast, requiring less alcohol to do so. They have to be more mindful of their alcohol consumption to avoid the adverse effects described above.
Conclusion
To conclude, alcohol affects individuals differently based on their weight, height, gender, and various other health parameters. The higher the BAC, the more affected by alcohol the person becomes. Women tend to get inebriated quickly than men, even when their weight is comparable, due to differences in alcohol processing. Bariatric surgery patients are affected by alcohol twice as much.
References
Argyrakopoulou, G., Konstantinidou, S. K., Dalamaga, M., & Kokkinos, A. (2022).
Nutritional deficiencies before and after bariatric surgery: prevention and treatment. Current Nutrition Reports, 11(2), 95-101.
Hamilton, P. (2022). Blood tests made easy. New York, NY: Elsevier Health Sciences.
Jones, A. W., Morland, J. G., & Liu, R. H. (Eds.). (2020). Alcohol, drugs, and impaired driving: Forensic science and law enforcement issues. New York, NY: CRC Press.