College-aged men and women use alcohol in roughly equal numbers. However, binge drinking, particularly extreme binge drinking, continues to be far more common among young men.
Binge drinking is defined as a pattern of drinking that brings the blood alcohol level to 0.08 grams or above. For males, that means consuming five or more drinks within two hours. For females, it’s four or more drinks in that amount of time. Extreme binge drinking is about twice that amount.
One of the biggest risks of binge drinking is alcohol poisoning. The body absorbs ethanol, the active ingredient in alcoholic drinks, faster than proteins, carbohydrates, or fats—it takes the body about an hour to process alcohol through the liver, notes the Mayo Clinic. This means that consuming four or five drinks in an hour gives the body more ethanol than it can handle, slowing nervous system function.
Binge drinking can affect muscle coordination, thought processes, heart rate, and breathing. This type of drinking can also catalyze the following mental and physical health risks:
Each year, more than 22,000 US college students, ages 18–24, are hospitalized for an alcohol overdose. Binge drinking and alcoholism symptoms can manifest in both physical and mental health issues, including:
Because young people may binge drink only on weekends or at parties, they may not realize that their drinking is becoming a problem. It is possible to develop alcohol dependence even when you don’t drink on a daily basis.
For more information on helping teens and young adults, visit http://www.newportacademy.com/
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