It’s Not Your Grandmother’s Nursing Home: More Binge Drinkers than in College Dorms, CDC Study

Credit: Corbis

Nursing homes may house more frequent binge drinkers than college dorms.

In addition to finding that binge drinking is bigger than previously thought, a CDC report shows that while most binge drinkers are college students, those who binge most often are over 65.

More than 50 percent of the consumed alcohol in the United States is drunk while binge drinking, researchers found. The report revealed other surprises:

• The income bracket with the most binge drinkers is well off, with incomes over $75,000
• The poorest income bracket (less than $25,000) drinks the most per binge
• people who binge are not alcoholics

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The survey of 457,677 Americans asked both how often people engaged in binge drinking, and how many drinks they downed in a single session.

Binge drinking is most common in the Midwest, with Wisconsin adults who indulge in the practice topping the charts at 25.6 percent. It’s lowest in Utah, at 10.9 percent.

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Make no mistake, however: college-age young adults still drink a lot: 28 percent of those ages 18 to 24 said they binged on alcohol four times a month, averaging 9.3 drinks per binge. And more than 90 percent of the alcohol youth drink occurs during binges.

SOURCE: DISCOVERY CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL (CDC) LINK:  http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/player.asp?f=11158 

“People who binge drink are not alcoholics. Give it time. Binge eaters eventually got added to the spectrum of eating disorders. Just give it time, I say. And let’s hope there is always someone available, who hasn’t been binge drinking, to drive these individuals home.  Oh wait.  The ones in the Nursing Home ARE already home.  Come to think of it, so are the ones in Dorms.  O.K. Party on, then!!” ~Maria Dorfner

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• CDC: 1 in 6 US Adults Is a Binge Drinker (webmd.com)