Binge drinking is a dangerous behavior that can lead to tragic circumstances. It’s not often recognized as a women’s health problem but nearly 14 million US women binge drink about three times a month, and consume an average of six drinks per binge, according to a Vital Signs report released in January 2013 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The report highlights how binge drinking puts females at increased risk for many health problems such as breast cancer, sexually transmitted diseases, heart disease, and unintended pregnancy.
In addition, the report finds that about 1 in 8 women and 1 in 5 high school girls report binge drinking. Binge drinking was most common among women aged 18–34 and high school girls, whites and Hispanics, and women with household incomes of $75,000 or more. Half of all high school girls who drink alcohol report binge drinking (defined as consuming four or more drinks on an occasion for women and girls). Drinking too much, including binge drinking, causes about 23,000 deaths among women and girls in the US each year. “Binge drinking causes many health problems, and there are proven ways to prevent excessive drinking,” said CDC Director Thomas Frieden, MD, MPH. “Effective community measures can support women and girls in making wise choices about whether to drink or how much to drink if they do.”
CDC scientists looked at the drinking behavior of approximately 278,000 U.S. women aged 18 and older for 30 days through data collected from the 2011 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, and for approximately 7,500 U.S. high school girls from the 2011 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey.
Anonymous confessions
Binge drinking begins in high school.
"My older sister used to get it for me."
"I took vodka from my mom's cabinet. I don't think she knew it was gone. She never said anything."
"I see people leaving parties wasted all the time. They get behind the wheel and none of us say anything about it."
"I don't like the taste of beer or any of that stuff; I just hold a cup at parties so I don't look weird."
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