Binge drinkers are drinking even more

A new study from the CDC finds that adults who binge drink are drinking even more than they used to. Researchers analyzed data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System over a six-year period and discovered that the annual number of binge drinks among adults who reported excessive drinking jumped, on average, from 472 in 2011 to 529 in 2017. That's a 12% increase. From 2011 to 2017, the number of drinks consumed annually increased from 587 to 666 on average for men, and from 256 to 290 for women. In 2017, the number of binge drinks pear year among adult binge drinkers ranged from 320 per year in Massachusetts to 1,219 per year in Wyoming. The CDC defines binge drinking as five drinks or more for men or four or more for women in about two hours. Binge drinking has serious health risks, according to the CDC, including car accidents, domestic violence, STDs, unintentional pregnancy, stroke, heart disease and liver disease.