the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), binge drinking, while harmful to both sexes, poses a greater risk to women than to men. In fact, drinking too much, including binge drinking (defined as the consumption of 4 or more drinks on a single occasion for women and 5 or more drinks for men), results in about 23,000 deaths in women and girls each year in the US. With April designated Alcohol Awareness Month, there’s no better time than the present to shine a spotlight on this dangerous behavior and the serious impact it can have on women.
How prevalent is binge drinking among women?
Approximately 13% of adult women report binge drinking. Among them, 25% do so at least weekly, on average, and 25% consume at least six drinks during a binge drinking occasion, the CDC reports. Other significant CDC statistics related to women and alcohol consumption/ binge drinking include:
• Nearly half of adult women report drinking alcohol in the past 30 days.
• Almost 18% of women of childbearing age (i.e., ages 18-44 years) binge drink.
• In 2019, about 32% of female high school students consumed alcohol compared with 26% of male high school students. Binge drinking was also more common among female (15%) than male (13%) high school students.
• In 2020, 9% of women overall and 17% of women aged 18 to 25 years had an alcohol use disorder.
What difference does sex make?
When it comes to the effects of excessive alcohol consumption, men and women are not created equal. Compared to men, women face unique health and safety risks from binge drinking. Owing to physiological differences, women tend to absorb more alcohol and take longer to metabolize it than men do. Thus, if a man and woman consume an equal quantity of alcohol, the woman will likely have a higher blood alcohol level and become impaired more quickly and for a longer period than the man will.
Health consequences for women
In women, binge drinking increases the risk of several chronic, life-threatening ailments. For example, women who binge drink are at greater risk than their male counterparts of experiencing heart disease or stroke— even if they drink smaller amounts. Women who consume excessive amounts of alcohol are also more likely than men to develop liver disease and various cancers (specifically cancers of the breast, liver, mouth, throat, esophagus, and colon) and are more prone to the brain-damaging effects of binge drinking. What’s more, women who binge drink are at increased risk of being victims of sexual assault.
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders Consuming alcohol in any amount, at any time, and in any form while pregnant puts the unborn child at risk of developing various fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, or FASDs—a wide range of physical, mental, behavioral, and learning problems. It’s very important for women who are pregnant to understand that there is no safe amount of alcohol one can drink while pregnant. The good news is, women can prevent FASDs completely by avoiding alcohol consumption when pregnant or planning to become pregnant.
Not a risk worth taking
Considering the potential negative ramifications of binge drinking, this destructive behavior should be avoided by both men and women. However, it’s important for women to be aware that the effects of excessive alcohol consumption and its impact on their immediate and long-term health can be even greater for them than it is for men. For many reasons, binge drinking is not a risk worth taking. ✲
