You’re Probably A Binge Drinker And Don’t Know It

When we think of binge drinking, typically an image of a college party comes up, complete with kegs of beer, funneling and keg stands, but binge drinking is not just for college students anymore.  According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly three-fourths of binge drinking episodes involve adults over the age of 26, and more than 30 million American adults binge drink on an average of four times a month. The fastest growing group of binge drinkers are those over 65 years old.

So where do you fall in all this?  For men, binge drinking means more than four drinks in one sitting, or more than 14 drinks per week.  For women, it means more than three drinks in one sitting, or more than seven drinks per week.  I'd say by those definitions of binge drinking, specifically referring to the amount of drinks per week, most of America is binge drinking.  Ok, maybe that's an exaggeration but here's my question to the CDC: are you really a binge drinker if you enjoy one glass of wine per day?  That equals seven drinks per week and qualifies as binge drinking for a woman according to them.  If that's the case, consider me guilty.  And guess what?  I'm going to continue enjoying that glass of wine per day.