Binge Drinking a Bigger Problem Than Anyone Knew

Americans drink too much, says the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A new report shows U. S. adults binge drink more frequently and consume more drinks when they do.

Binge drinking has been a growing problem on college campuses in recent years, and it's apparent from the CDC research that many of these college students continue their habits once they become adults.

More than 38 million adults binge drink an average of four times a month and the most drinks they consume on average is eight, according to a new CDC Vital Signs report.

And it's not just recent college graduates who are binging. There are seniors, aged 65 and older, who also report binge drinking. And they appear to be more prone to tipping the bottle than the younger generation. Seniors who report binge drinking say they do so on average five to six times a month.

Most likely to binge

Another cliché – that the lower income population is more likely to over-consume alochol – has been put to rest. The CDC report says binge drinking is more common among those with household incomes of $75,000 or more.

When lower income consumers do engage in binge drinking, they consume more drinks.

Binge drinking is defined as consuming four or more drinks for women and five or more drinks for men on a single occasion. Binge drinkers also put themselves and others at risk for many health and social problems, including car crashes, other unintentional injuries, violence, liver disease, certain cancers, heart disease, sexually transmitted diseases, and both unintended and alcohol–exposed pregnancies.

Drinking too much, including binge drinking, causes more than 80,000 deaths in the United States each year, the CDC says. That makes it the third leading preventable cause of death, and was responsible for more than $223.5 billion in economic costs in 2006. Over half of these deaths result from injuries that disproportionately involve young people.