Dr. George Koob, who directs the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, said women in college were more likely to binge drink than men (shown during the interview)
American women are now drinking heavily for the first time in history, a leading government doctor warned.
Dr. George Koop, director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), said the trend had been noticed among college students.
He blamed the “rebound” on the “alcohol shortage effect” during the pandemic, though he’s not sure why women are more affected than men.
Biden’s alcohol czar also expressed concern that this year’s spring break — which began today and is the first normal post-Covid season — could turn into a bloodbath.
Dr. Koob raised the concerns with the Washington examiner while talking about the negative health effects of alcohol.
It comes amid the “blackout rage gallon” (BORG) fad, where young people mix water, electrolytes, and vodka before drinking the mixture from gallon jugs.
The chart above shows the proportion of men and women who reported binge drinking in the past month while in college. Levels are now higher in women
He said: “In 2021 there is an uptick [in binge drinking]especially among women.
‘It now appears that for the first time in history, women binge drink more than men on university campuses.’
Asked to explain the trend, he said, “It’s what we call the alcohol deprivation effect. People tend to really start drinking again after a period of not drinking.
“We’re a little concerned that this spring and spring break will see a return to a fair amount of binge drinking.”
He added, “I want to warn everyone that when you start to get to the level of binge drinking, you’re going to be doing some really bad things to your body.”
For women, binge drinking is when they have four drinks or more in the same night. For men, it’s five drinks or more.
Women are at greater risk of health problems from alcohol than men.
This is related to their lower weight and, because alcohol tends to be stored in water by the body, the fact that they have less water in their bodies.
Studies show that after drinking less and for a shorter period of time, women are at greater risk of heart disease, cancer, and other alcohol complications than men.
Their blood alcohol concentrations are also higher after consuming a drink compared to men.
Dr. Koob was not citing any data when he said that women now binge drink more than men.
However, official data suggests that the shift in binge drinking between men and women has been going on for some time.
At the turn of the century, about 38 percent of college women and 48 percent of men were binge drinkers.
The NIAAA also said in 2015 that about 40 percent of college students binge drink once a month.
This has since plummeted and by 2019, the latest available date, about 11.8 percent of women were binge drinking on a monthly basis.
But the decline was sharper in men: 10.4 percent now reported the behavior in the past month.
Women in the group also reported more alcohol use in the past year than their male counterparts, at 35.9 percent versus 31.3 percent.
Experts suggest that the decline from the turn of the century is related to increased efforts to reduce underage drinking. It may also be related to the cost of living, with students having less money available to spend on alcohol.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says it’s safe for women to drink no more than one standard alcoholic drink per day and no more than two for men.
This equates to one glass of wine, one shot or one pint of beer for women, or twice that for men.
But anything higher than this could expose people to health problems, including heart disease, cancer and a weakened immune system.
The US rules are relatively lax compared to northern neighbor Canada, which warns people not to drink more than two drinks per week.
However, some experts have quashed these strict guidelines by saying they haven’t considered the social benefits of drinking.
There are about 4,000 alcohol-related deaths in the US each year among underage drinkers, including car accidents, homicides and alcohol poisonings.
In a serious case that came to light last year, a 19-year-old University of Missouri student was left blind and unable to walk or talk because of alcohol.
Danny Santulli was ordered to drink a 1.75 liter bottle of Tito’s vodka and was forced to drink beer before collapsing during a hazing incident in his dorm.
He was rushed to hospital, but after he stopped breathing, his brain suffered severe damage. He is now wheelchair bound and has to be cared for by his mother.