New Delhi: The British spy James Bond may routinely get himself out of dangerous situations with skill and charm, but his body may be suffering all the while because of his drinking habits.
British researchers predict he could die from alcohol-related causes, such as liver damage, by age 56.
Scientists wanted to examine just how much alcohol the famous fictional secret agent consumes, and what effect that could have on his health.
They published a study, led by Graham Johnson of the emergency department of Royal Derby Hospital, in the British Medical Journal's Christmas edition, which features a variety of offbeat research papers.
Researchers found Bond's weekly alcohol consumption totaled 92 units a week, which is more than four times what doctors recommend.
A unit of alcohol is defined as 10 milliliters or 8 grams of pure ethanol in the United Kingdom. For some perspective on that, a bottle of wine is nine units, and a pint of beer is three, according to this study.
The finding of 92 units a week could actually be the low end of the truth, as studies have shown that people generally underestimate their alcohol consumption by about 30%, the study said, noting other research has demonstrated that health surveys don't account for about half of all alcohol sold.
In other words, Bond may be drinking much more than the large quantities portrayed in the books.
Here are some of the movies based on 007 James Bond:
