Blood Alcohol Content Calculation
Blood alcohol content can be roughly estimated using a mathematical approach. Mathematical estimations can be useful for calculating a blood alcohol content level that is not currently testable, or a level that may be present in the future. While there are several ways to calculate it, one of the most effective ways is to simply measure the total amount of alcohol consumed divided by the total amount of water in the body—effectively giving the percent alcohol per volume water in the blood.
Gender plays an important role in the total amount of water that a person has. In general, men have a higher percent of water (58%) than women (49%). This fact alone strongly contributes to the generalization that men require more alcohol than women to achieve the same blood alcohol content level. Additionally, men are, on average, heavier than women. The more water a person has, the more alcohol is required to achieve the same alcohol:blood ratio, or blood alcohol content level. Further, studies have shown that women's alcohol metabolism varies from that of men due to such biochemical factors as different levels of alcohol dehydrogenase (the enzyme which breaks down alcohol) and the effects of oral contraceptives.
It is not strictly accurate to say that the water content of a person alone is responsible for the dissolution of alcohol within the body, because alcohol does dissolve in fatty tissue as well. When it does, a certain amount of alcohol is temporarily taken out of the blood and briefly stored in the fat. For this reason, most calculations of alcohol to body mass simply use the weight of the individual, and not specifically his water content.
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