Binge drinking refers to the large-scale consumption of alcohol in a short span of time. The federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC) defines binge drinking for young women as four or more alcoholic drinks consumed in two or so hours. For men, it's five or more drinks.
According to the CDC, binge drinking is epidemic among young adults, ages 18-34. Some 1 in 4 young adults had had at least one recent episode of binge drinking in the month prior to the CDC's 2009 survey. Young men were twice as likely as young women to binge drink, and non-Hispanic whites were more likely than other races to do so.
The big concern? Alcohol abuse is already one of the top three preventable causes of death, and binge drinking is a particular concern. "Binge drinking increases many health risks," says CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden, "including fatal car crashes, contracting a sexually transmitted disease, dating violence, and drug overdoses."
