Binge drinking can affect the body in several ways, both in the short and long run,
What Counts as Binge Drinking?
The criteria for binge drinking vary between men and women. For men, binge drinking refers to the consumption of at least five drinks within a span of two hours. For women, it involves consuming at least four drinks in roughly two hours.
In a 2015 study, it was found that one in six adults in the US reportedly engaged in binge drinking. The 37 million individuals who binge-drank had roughly one binge in one week, with each episode covering an average of seven drinks consumed. This is equivalent to roughly 17 billion binge drinks a year.
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Effects of Binge Drinking
The most immediate effects of drinking can be felt just five to ten minutes after drinking.
The liver breaks down roughly 90% of the alcohol in the blood. The remainder gets excreted through the kidneys, lungs, or sweating.
For a person of average size, the liver is only capable of breaking down one average drink per hour. Hence, when one drinks more alcohol than what the liver is capable of processing, one's blood alcohol content (BAC) goes up alongside bodily effects.
There are also other factors that may affect the BAC, including drinking speed, body time, and recent eating intake. Even sex, age, and ethnicity could affect it as well.
Aside from this, binge drinking is generally considered risky. Dr. Timothy Naimi, medicine professor at the School of Medicine at Boston University, explains that roughly half of the total alcohol-related deaths across the US involve acute intoxication. The majority of economic costs are also connected to binge drinking.
Alcohol poisoning from binge drinking can lead to death. Depressing a gag reflex also poses a death risk, as this could put a fainted person at risk of choking on their vomit. Moreover, too much alcohol intake can affect actions, which can boost the risk of injury or death from vehicular accidents, suffocation, drowning, and other incidents.
On top of this, binge drinking can also affect the heart, kidneys, lungs, pancreas, and sexual health.
In the long run, alcohol intake boosts one's risk of getting several cancers, such as cancer of the mouth, liver, throat, esophagus, voice box, rectum, and colon. Even having a few drinks within a week could also boost breast cancer risk for women.
Long-term and heavy alcohol consumption could result in alcoholic liver disease, which involves liver inflammation and cirrhosis. It may also affect the bones and muscles, blood and immune system, brain and nervous system, and intestines. One's sexual and mental health can also be impacted.
How Much Alcohol Can You Take?
It has been recommended by the US National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism that men should not exceed four drinks a day and 14 drinks a week. For women, alcohol consumption should not go beyond three drinks a day and seven a week.
However, to reduce the societal effects of binge drinking, it will be necessary to recognize the problem's scope and address the matter on a large scale. Efforts may include having alcohol taxes, implementing guidelines for alcohol advertisements, and having reasonable restrictions regarding alcohol availability.
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