A new study shows a trained computer can predict whether children will become binge drinkers by the time they turn 16.

The study, published on Nature, an online scientific journal, described how researchers trained and programmed a computer to weigh factors associated with teenage binge drinking. The study focused on 14-year-old subjects.

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Robert Whelan, a cognitive neuroscientist and head of the study, said that the result is very promising. The computer can predict teenage binge drinking by 70 percent.

In the IMAGEN, a European research project that investigates mental health and risk-taking behaviour in teenagers, used information like brain function life history, genetics and personality to obtain data from 14-year-old participants. The data generated will be linked to their future behavior when they start to consume alcohol at the age of 16.

The information allowed the computer to learn how different variables influence the misuse of future drinking. According to the study, the computer can read over 40 variables. In one example, researchers learned that a 14-year-old who smokes can contribute to increased weight. The changes take place during puberty, but it does not apply to other 14-year-olds who do not smoke.

“It’s a form of supervised learning," Whelan commented. He added that you should tell the computer what the groups are, and it needs to learn the features that will distinguish them.

Once the computer identifies the most relevant factors, the researchers will apply them to a new set of 14-year-olds and make comparisons when they turn 16.

"We learned that predicting teenage binge drinking is possible. We can be confident about that number," Whelan confidently said.

Whelan also thinks that there should be a further genetic research so it will help in creating stronger predictions.

TagsScience, binge drinking, future detector of binge drinking, teen binge drinkers