Binge Drinking: Definition, Symptoms, And Effects
Popular culture centered around drinking and party life is rife with references to the “all-nighter,” the “bender,” and so on. Though getting blackout drunk often leads to hilary on the screen, it can lead to more severe consequences in real life. Learn about the definition, symptoms, and effects of binge drinking.
What is the difference between binge drinking and heavy drinking?
Heavy drinking is a pattern of alcohol abuse related to binge drinking. Heavy drinking is the excessive use of alcohol over a longer period like a week, while binge drinking refers to consuming a large quantity of alcohol in a short time, like a few hours.
If you’re wondering whether binge drinking vs. heavy drinking has better outcomes, neither pattern of abuse is healthy.
Binge drinking definition
Binge drinking is a pattern of alcohol consumption that leads to a blood-alcohol level of .08% or more significantly within a short time. Binge drinking is a pattern of substance abuse with short- and long-term health effects.
In the short term, binge drinking may lead to nausea, vomiting, or impaired judgment. For a long time, binge drinking can lead to acute medical conditions such as cancer. Binge drinking is related to several alcohol abuse patterns, such as continuous and heavy drinking.
Symptoms of binge drinking
Often binge drinking goes undetected because it occurs during celebrations where over-consumption is socially permissible. However, social context has no bearing on what binge drinking is.
Binge drinking can manifest in several forms depending on the alcohol abuser’s patterns of abuse but generally includes the consumption of 4 or more alcoholic drinks in two hours.
To identify binge drinking, it is important to quantify how much of an alcoholic beverage constitutes a serving.
The US defines an alcoholic drink as one 12-ounce beer, one 5-ounce glass of wine, or one 1.5-ounce shot of spirits. For example, a cocktail mixed with three ounces of spirits is two drinks. Consuming three cocktails with three ounces of grain alcohol in fewer than twelve hours would be considered binge drinking.
Although binge drinking can be masked by manipulating serving sizes, behavioral changes, such as slurred speech, loss of coordination, or vomiting, that result from binge drinking are more challenging to hide.
Body weight plays a role in identifying binge drinking, but for most people, consuming four or more drinks in a single sitting is considered excessive by health professionals.
Effects of binge drinking
Binge drinking is the primary pattern of alcohol abuse associated with the majority of alcohol-related incidents. Binge drinking tends to result in car crashes, violence, suicide, and alcohol poisoning.
Binge drinking has short and long-term effects. Short-term effects of binge drinking include hostility, depression, loss of motor skills, and alcohol poisoning.
Long-term effects of binge drinking include social isolation, weight gain, sleeping problems, stroke, cancer, and mental health issues.
Binge drinking is regarded as reckless behavior and is especially dangerous for women, as they are more likely to experience sexual abuse or violence when binge drinking than men are.
Wrap-up
Binge drinking is a pattern of alcohol abuse defined as consuming four or more alcoholic beverages within two hours.
Symptoms of binge drinking include impaired coordination, vision, and decision-making. Binge drinking can also lead to acute medical conditions such as cancer. Binge drinking also has social consequences, such as losing friendships or family connections.
