Australians are drinking more alcohol than a decade ago and teenagers are consuming double the number of drinks compared to adults, researchers say.

The study, published in the Medical Journal of Australia, also found a narrowing gap in the consumption of alcohol between men and women.

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Over the last decade, men increased their daily intake from 4.7 standard drinks to 5.0, while women are consuming 3.4 standard drinks – up from 2.8.

University of Sydney academics, Professor Farhat Yusuf and Emeritus Professor Stephen Leeder, said the findings were based on extensive Australian Bureau of Statistic (ABS) figures collected in 2001 and 2011-2012.

But it’s drinking levels among teens that has caused worry.

The 2011 survey found 41.6 per cent of teens had helped themselves to a drink during the week.

“The average daily consumption over days recorded for those aged 15–19 years was 7.1 standard drinks,” researchers said.

The figure is 65 per cent higher than the average for adults, who consumed 4.3 standard drinks.

Figures were not collected for the teenage group in 2001.

Women are also closing in on drinking levels for men.

“While women consumed much less alcohol than men in each survey, the gender gap had narrowed — women had consumed 40 per cent less alcohol than men in 2001, but only 33 per cent less during 2011–2012,” researchers said.

The latest findings contradict a study published last year by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) stating that Australians were drinking less.

But the Sydney researchers pointed to the higher number of responses in the ABS figures.

Meanwhile the study also found those with uni qualifications, white collar jobs or employment generally, drink less on a daily basis.

“Moreover, relatively disadvantaged people reported higher consumption levels, and they also spent a somewhat larger proportion of their household budget on alcohol,” the study said.