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Duration of Alcohol in the Body
by Reid K. Hester, Ph.D.
Alcohol is, on average, metabolized at the rate of 16 mg% (or .016 in more common terms) per hour. Some individuals process it more quickly and others more slowly. So if you have a peak blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .16 your body would take about 10 hours to completely metabolize that amount of alcohol.
However, how high your BAC gets is a function of your gender (females have higher BAC levels for a given body weight and percent body fat than do men), your weight and percent body fat (because alcohol isn't absorbed into fat), how much you drink, and how long you take to drink it. So this portion of the question is much more complex than how quickly a person metabolized alcohol.
About the Author:
Reid K. Hester, Ph.D., Director, Research Division, Behavior Therapy Associates, 9426 Indian School Rd NE, Suite 1, Albuquerque, NM 87112. Phone: 505.345.6100.
Dr. Hester is has developed an evidence-based, web application called ModerateDrinking.com to help heavy drinkers be successful in changing their drinking. A video demo of the program is available at www.behaviortherapy.com
Revised 8/15/08 by Marlene M. Maheu, Ph.D.
