As of 2024, the U.S. states with the highest prevalence of binge drinking among adults were District of Columbia, Montana, and Iowa. In D.C., around 24 percent of adults stated they binge drank in the last 30 days. Binge drinking is defined as four or more drinks among women and five or more drinks among men on a single occasion.Â
Binge drinking among young people
Binge drinking in the United States is most common among those aged 21 to 25 years, with around 34 percent of those in this age group reporting binge drinking in the past 30 days in 2023. Men are generally more likely to engage in binge drinking than women, however the percentage of men aged 18 to 25 years who binge drink has decreased greatly over the past two decades, with binge drinking rates higher among women in this age group in 2023. In 2002, around 50 percent of men aged 18 to 25 years reported binge drinking in the past 30 days, with this rate dropping to 28 percent by the year 2023, compared to 29 percent among women. Even among young people enrolled in college, a demographic that is infamous for heavy drinking, rates of binge drinking dropped from 44 percent in 2002, to 29 percent in 2020. Reasons for this may be less social pressure to drink as well as more widespread awareness of the dangers of heavy alcohol use.
Health risks of alcohol use
In addition to the short-term health risks of alcohol use such as injury from car crashes, alcohol poisoning, and risky sexual behavior, excessive alcohol use can also increase one’s risk of developing a number of diseases and health conditions. For example, excessive alcohol use can lead to high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, certain types of cancers, and liver disease as well as dementia and mental health problems such as anxiety and depression. The most common types of alcohol-associated cancers in the United States are female breast cancer, colon and rectum cancer, and lip, oral cavity, and pharynx cancer.