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EJ Macababbad - The Philippine Star
June 20, 2026 | 12:00am
Data from the 2025 Updating Survey of the Nutritional Status of Filipino Children and Other Population Groups conducted by the DOST-Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) showed that the share of Filipinos aged 20 to 59 classified as current drinkers, or those who consumed one or more alcoholic drinks in the year preceding the survey, increased to 62.5 percent in 2025 from 60.3 percent in 2023.
Hoang Dinh Nam / File
MANILA, Philippines — More adult Filipinos are consuming alcoholic beverages despite the health risks associated with drinking, according to the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
Data from the 2025 Updating Survey of the Nutritional Status of Filipino Children and Other Population Groups conducted by the DOST-Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) showed that the share of Filipinos aged 20 to 59 classified as current drinkers, or those who consumed one or more alcoholic drinks in the year preceding the survey, increased to 62.5 percent in 2025 from 60.3 percent in 2023.
Adults who consumed alcohol within 30 days before the survey, or recent drinkers, also slightly increased to 38.6 percent in 2025 from 37.9 percent in 2023.
Among these recent drinkers, 58.8 percent were classified as binge drinkers, or those who consume at least five standard drinks in a row for males and at least four for females.
A standard drink may consist of a regular bottle of beer, a 30-milliliter serving of spirits or a medium-sized glass of wine or aperitif.
Presenting the findings during the 2026 National Nutrition Summit in Pasay City on Wednesday, senior science research specialist Maria Stephanie Parani noted that drinking prevalence varies across income groups.
“We can see a clear socioeconomic trend,” Parani said. “Recent drinking is lowest among the poorest and increases steadily with wealth.”
Recent drinkers were almost equally distributed between urban and rural areas.
Among adolescents aged 10 to 19, the proportion of current drinkers slightly declined to 22.3 percent in 2025 from 22.6 percent in 2023.
“This minor difference is not statistically significant, meaning the consumption of alcoholic beverages by our adolescents has remained unchanged. Yet, these statistics can be translated into one in five adolescents still drinking,” Parani stressed.
The share of teens who consumed alcohol within the previous 30 days dropped to 9.1 percent from 10 percent, while the prevalence of current drinkers among senior citizens rose to 35.8 percent in 2025 from 34.1 percent in 2023.
Rates in Eastern Visayas, Central Visayas and Caraga exceeded the national average.
The FNRI monitors alcohol consumption as part of behavioral risk factors linked to non-communicable diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and cancers.
Other risk factors include environmental exposures, biologic risks such as obesity, elevated blood pressure and high cholesterol and non-modifiable factors such as age, sex and family history.
“These data provide the essential evidence needed to track global targets and guide our policymakers for health interventions,” Parani said.
The Department of Health has maintained that there are “no safe levels” of alcohol consumption, warning that alcohol is a psychoactive, neurotoxic and oxidative agent associated with organ damage.
