Although binge drinking is a dangerous behavior that can lead to tragic circumstances, it’s not often associated with women.
Yet nearly 14 million U.S. women binge drink about three times a month and consume an average of six drinks per binge, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Women who engage in this behaviro are at an increased risk for many health problems such as breast cancer, sexually transmitted diseases, heart disease and unintended pregnancy.
Pregnant women who binge drink expose a developing baby to high levels of alcohol, which can lead to fetal alcohol spectrum disorders and sudden infant death syndrome.
In addition, the report found that about one in eight women and one in five high school girls report binge drinking.
Binge drinking was most common among women aged 18 to 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.
Binge drinking is 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 U.S. each year.
“Binge drinking causes many health problems, and there are proven ways to prevent excessive drinking,” Dr. Thomas Frieden, CDC director, said in a statement. “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 the past 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.
“It is alarming to see that binge drinking is so common among women and girls, and that women and girls are drinking so much when they do,” said Robert Brewer, M.D., M.S.P.H., of the Alcohol Program at CDC. “The good news is that the same scientifically proven strategies for communities and clinical settings that we know can prevent binge drinking in the overall population can also work to prevent binge drinking among women and girls.”
Drinking too much can seriously affect the health of women and girls.
• Women’s and girls’ bodies respond to alcohol differently than men’s. It takes less alcohol for women to get intoxicated because of their size and how they process alcohol.
• Binge drinking can lead to unintended pregnancies. It is not safe to drink at any time during pregnancy.
• If women binge drink while pregnant, they risk exposing their developing baby to high levels of alcohol, increasing the chances the baby will be harmed by the mother’s alcohol use.
The CDC has the following advice on the healthy consumption of alcohol:
• Avoid binge drinking. Those who choose to drink alcohol should follow the U.S. Dietary Guidelines.
• People should avoid alcohol if they’re underage, if there is any chance they could be pregnant or have health problems that could be made worse by drinking.
• Be cautious about consuming drinks if the alcohol content is unknown.
• Don’t begin drinking or drink more frequently on the basis of potential health benefits.
• For those who choose to drink, do so in moderation. This is defined as up to 1 drink a day for women or 2 for men.
