America’s Binge-Drinking Problem Is Even Worse Than We Thought

America’s Binge-Drinking Problem Is Even Worse Than We Thought

 

Many of us enjoy the odd glass of wine or beer, but every once in a while we like to throw down and get completely wasted. But for many Americans, these binge-drinking sessions aren’t as “every once in a while” as we’d like to believe. New research shows that nearly 20 percent of all US adults participate in binge-drinking—and when they do, they go hard.

New research published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine shows that US adults consume more than 17 billion binge drinks each year, which boils down to about 470 binge drinks per binge drinker annually. The study, conducted by researchers at the CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, also found that 37.4 million Americans, or one in six Americans, binge drink about once a week, and at an average of about seven drinks per binging session. That amounts to a whopping 17.5 billion total binge drinks annually.

In terms of definitions and measures, binge drinking is when men drink five or more drinks, and women four or more drinks, within a two-hour span (the difference is because men and women metabolize alcohol differently, mostly due to lower amounts of water in women’s bodies compared to men). A single drink can consist of either a shot of hard liquor, a 5-ounce glass of wine, or a 12-ounce glass of beer at 5% alcohol (plenty of craft beers now greatly exceed alcohol content, so this measure is understated in some cases).

For the study, a team led by Robert Brewer took a look at CDC data contained within its 2015 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), which relies on self-reported data. Importantly, study respondents are notorious for underreporting their drinking habits, so the rates of binge drinking may actually be higher than the new study reports—a possibility not lost on the researchers. This caveat aside, the CDC team used this data to calculate annual estimates of binge drinking, and to sort the findings according to age, sex, education, race/ethnicity, household income, and state.

They found that binge-drinking was most common among adults between the age of 18 and 34, but more than half of all binge drinks consumed were by adults over the age of 35 (so when the 35+ crowd binges, they really binge). Four out of five binged-drinks were consumed by men, which could mean men drink more than women when they drink (very likely), or that men are more inclined to binge than women, or a combination of the two (another possibility is that women are more inclined to underreport, either consciously or unconsciously). People reporting lower household income and lower educational levels “consumed substantially more” than those in higher income and education brackets. Arkansas, Mississippi, Kentucky, and Hawaii reported the highest number of binge drinkers, while Washington, DC, New Jersey, New York, and Washington State were ranked at the bottom.

“This study shows that binge drinkers are consuming a huge number of drinks per year, greatly increasing their chances of harming themselves and others,” said Brewer in a CDC release.

Alcohol kills about 88,000 people annually in the US, of which half can be attributed to binge drinking. Heavy drinking has been associated with cancer, heart disease, and liver failure, while binge drinking can result in alcohol-related auto accidents, violence, and risky sexual behavior…..more here

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