Excessive drinking, also known as binge drinking, is the consumption of enough alcohol to raise your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels to 0.08. Typically, that means four drinks for women, and five for men ─ in a period of two hours.
Oftentimes, binge drinking occurs when a person consumes alcohol uncontrollably and “blacks out,” or experiences memory loss, during or after drinking. Even if binge drinking doesn’t occur on a regular basis, consuming many alcoholic beverages in a short period of time can have negative health consequences down the road. Studies have shown younger people who binge drink are three times more likely to develop alcoholism, otherwise known as alcohol use disorder, as adults.
An alarming new trend that increases the risk of alcoholism is called High-Intensity Drinking (HID), which promotes consuming “alcohol at levels that are two or more times the gender-specific binge drinking thresholds.” This harmful trend is common among many populations, especially males, and HID becomes more prevalent on celebratory events like New Years Eve and 21st birthdays.