The latest findings from the report ‘Health Behaviours of Adults: United States, 2005-2007’, were released in April by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics. The results give and insight into the alcohol use, smoking status, weight, physical activity and sleep habits of US adults aged 18 and older.
Main findings include:
61% of American adults consider themselves drinkers. Men are more likely to drink alcohol than women, and people with more education are the most likely to drink almost a quarter of US residents say they’ve abstained their whole lives.
Among men, 68% say they currently drink, compared to 55% of women do.
Nearly 25% of all adults surveyed said they never drink: 31% of women and 18% of men were lifetime abstainers.
White men and women were more likely to report drinking than other ethnicities, with 70% of white
men saying they drink, compared to 57% of black men, 55% of Asian men, and 58% of American
Indian or Alaska Native men. Among women, the numbers were 59% for whites, 40% for blacks, 32% for Asians, and 45% for American Indian or Alaska Natives.

63% of non-Hispanic adults said they drink compared to 51% of Hispanic adults. Higher education boosts the likelihood of alcohol use, the survey suggests. Among respondents, nearly three-quarters with graduate degrees drink, compared to 44% of those who lack a high school diploma.
Richer people drink more: Just 45% of adults in families with incomes below the poverty level
reported drinking, compared to 73% of those who have incomes four or more times the poverty
level.
In addition to the findings on alcohol use, the report also noted that adults with higher levels of education are less likely to smoke, to be obese and to sleep less than six hours.