Alcohol Consumption Surges as More Women Take to Binge Drinking

The US is seeing a rise in binge drinking and women are contributing in a big way, even as men continue to remain more likely to binge drink.

A study conducted by University of Washington's Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) studied change of decadal alcohol consumption trends between 2002 and 2012 to find that binge drinking rates surged by 17.5 percent among women in 2012 compared to 2005 while they increased by 4.9 percent among men.

"In 2012, 8.2 percent of all Americans were considered heavy drinkers and 18.3 percent were binge drinkers," a statement from IHME said.

"We are seeing some very alarming trends in alcohol overconsumption, especially among women. We also can't ignore the fact that in many US counties a quarter of the people, or more, are binge drinkers," said Dr. Ali Mokdad, study's lead author.

The study also pointed out rates of binge drinking in counties. It found that Madison Country in Idaho had the lowest rate of 5.9 percent while Menominee in Wisconsin had the highest rate of 36 percent.

CDC terms more than one drink for women or more than two drinks for women as heavy drinking while binge drinking is defined as four or more drinks for women and five or more drinks for men. Binge drinking is associated with an elevated risk of alcohol poisoning, acute organ damage and higher risk of bodily damage following intoxication. It also increases risk of cirrhosis and heart problems in the long term.