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One Man's Dinner Party Is Another Man's Binge, Especially If the Other Man Has a Degree in Public Health
Based on data from the federal government's National Survey on Drug Use and Health, researchers at Duke University report that one-fifth of men and one-tenth of women between the ages of 50 and 64 have gone on a drinking binge in the last month. That sounds fairly alarming until you realize that our government defines "binge drinking" as consuming five or more drinks on one occasion. Yesterday, for example, I had a mint julep in the early evening, a glass of wine during dinner, and a Tom Collins afterward. Because those two cocktails each contained a couple of shots, this series of beverages qualified as one standard U.S. binge, even though I did not go on a violent rampage, drive my car into a hydrant or a pedestrian, or neglect professional or family responsibilities because of my preoccupation with drinking. As I noted several years ago:
This counterintuitive definition of [binge drinking], often used by alcohol researchers in the United States, causes confusion, and not just among laymen. It is quite different, first of all, from the traditional definition of an alcoholic binge, which involves devoting days or weeks to drunkenness.
As State University of New York sociologist David J. Hanson puts it, binge "describes an extended period of time (typically at least two days) during which time a person repeatedly becomes intoxicated and gives up his or her usual activities and obligations in order to become intoxicated. It is the combination of prolonged use and the giving up of usual activities that forms the core of the clinical definition of [a] binge."
Then, too, the CDC's notion of a binge is different from that of alcohol researchers in other countries. Hanson notes that "a recent Swedish study...defines a binge as the consumption of half a bottle of spirits or two bottles of wine on the same occasion." An Italian study viewed eight drinks a day as normal, while "in the United Kingdom, bingeing is commonly defined as consuming 11 or more drinks on an occasion."
The authors of the new study, which was published by The American Journal of Psychiatry, are also worried about "at-risk" drinking, defined as two or more drinks a day, a level of consumption reported by 19 percent of men and 13 percent of women in the 50-to-64 age group. (Those Americans needn't cut down on their drinking to avoid the "at-risk" designation; they also could move to the U.K., where two drinks a day are considered perfectly acceptable.) "At-risk and binge drinking are frequently reported by middle-aged and elderly adults nationwide and are therefore of public health concern," the researchers conclude. "Clinicians working with middle-aged and older adults should screen for binge drinking and coexisting use of other substances." I doubt that such nagging will reduce alcohol consumption, but it may drive down the numbers that alarm these researchers by encouraging people to be less candid about their drinking habits.
kinnath|8.17.09 @ 1:48PM|#
Dinner and conversation with friends: 4 adults, 4 bottles of
wine, over 4 hours.
Fuck Duke ;-)
PantsFan|8.17.09 @ 1:55PM|#
5 or more drinks in one evening?
I call that Tuesday night.
and Wednesday.
and Thursday.
etc.
Warty|8.17.09 @ 1:55PM|#
"in the United Kingdom, bingeing is commonly defined as
consuming 11 or more drinks on an occasion."
They go to 11?
|8.17.09 @ 1:56PM|#
I wonder why the concern of 50-64 year olds. Could it be they are worried what to do with these irresponsible folks when they reach the age of govt care? Maybe they're all getting wrecked because they think their kids will be living with them forever if the govt destroys all job creation.
Spartacus|8.17.09 @ 2:00PM|#
The authors of the new study, which was published by The
American Journal of Psychiatry, are also worried about "at-risk"
drinking, defined as two or more drinks a day...
At risk of what, exactly? Is there any actual evidence that two
drinks a day increases one's risk of anything?
Art-P.O.G.|8.17.09 @ 2:05PM|#
Jacob,
The first step is admitting you have a problem.
Why would anyone drink more than two drinks? Two is all I need for
a fine evening!
Gunboat Diplomacy|8.17.09 @ 2:06PM|#
"It is quite different, first of all, from the traditional
definition of an alcoholic binge, which involves devoting days or
weeks to drunkenness."
They call me Mister Old School. ;-)
|8.17.09 @ 2:09PM|#
It is the combination of prolonged use and the giving up of
usual activities that forms the core of the clinical definition of
[a] binge.
What if prolonged use IS my usual activity?
Spartacus|8.17.09 @ 2:12PM|#
If you pass out for a few hours and then start drinking again, does that count as one binge or two?
jtuf|8.17.09 @ 2:13PM|#
The Passover Seder includes for cups of wine. That much alcohol has never been enough to impare my friends and relatives. I can't imagine one more cup bringing someone into binge territory.
Mad Max|8.17.09 @ 2:13PM|#
'Dinner and conversation with friends: 4 adults, 4 bottles of
wine, over 4 hours.
'[expletive deleted] Duke ;-)'
To be fair, Duke University is far better known, and far more
accurately known, for drinking than for nagging about drinking.
This in spite of the university's Methodist heritage.
I'm not just talking about the students (although I've read a
reliable account of a student holding a keg party to celebrate his
baptism). To my own personal knowledge, Duke administrators have
billed the federal government for dining out at fancy restaurants -
and a fancy restaurant, almost by definition, is not a teetotaling
restaurant.
|8.17.09 @ 2:14PM|#
Why not have 11 drinks in the UK? It's not like the nanny state will actually let you pay for your stupid behavior. That's what all those other chumps are for.
anarch the libertarian teetota|8.17.09 @ 2:15PM|#
even though I did not go on a violent rampage, drive my car into a hydrant or a pedestrian
"Civilians" are pussies.
As for AA, have a look at rational.org instead.
T|8.17.09 @ 2:15PM|#
If you pass out for a few hours and then start drinking
again, does that count as one binge or two?
I'm gonna go with one. Technically speaking, I would say any period
where your BAC never falls to zero qualifies as a binge. So that
month I spent drunk probably qualifies.
|8.17.09 @ 2:17PM|#
The Passover Seder includes four cups of wine.
Manischewitz is the ugliest face of Anti-Diabetism.
|8.17.09 @ 2:18PM|#
I always thought a "binge" was a weekend in Vegas or New Orleans where go home hungover praying you are not facing a social disease or paternity suit. Anyone who thinks five drinks is a binge is just pathetic.
CatoTheElder|8.17.09 @ 2:19PM|#
Teetotalism is but another dreary, politically correct
conclusion of godless progressives and communitarians. The
individual exists for the greater good of his/her community;
alcoholic beverages impair the ability of the individual to serve
his/her community and potentially impose costs upon the community
in the form of substance abuse, lost productivity, health effect,
etc.; therefore alcohol is to be condemned.
What's next? The Junior Anti-Sex League?
I think it was Ben Franklin who said, "Beer is proof there is a
God, and that He wants us to be happy." TJ wrote about rights
including the right to persue happiness ... but modern progressives
and communitarians don't recognize the existance of natural
rights.
|8.17.09 @ 2:20PM|#
My PA is a very cute 20 something woman. She is very nice and a good PA, but totally engulfed in the latest medical PC. I always enjoy the look on her face during a physical when I tell her I drink five to ten drinks every Friday night and own three loaded and unlocked guns.
|8.17.09 @ 2:20PM|#
"What's next? The Junior Anti-Sex League?"
I believe "Feminist" is the proper term for that.
anarch|8.17.09 @ 2:24PM|#
Cato, unless you were just being silly, what on earth is wrong with another person's choice not to drink alcohol?
|8.17.09 @ 2:25PM|#
Is there any actual evidence that two drinks a day increases
one's risk of anything?
Not passing a breathalyzer test in most states.
Paul|8.17.09 @ 2:27PM|#
s "binge drinking" as consuming five or more drinks on one occasion.
Holy shit! I think I'm binging now!
|8.17.09 @ 2:28PM|#
"Cato, unless you were just being silly, what on earth is wrong
with another person's choice not to drink alcohol?"
Nothing. Cato is talking about enforcing your decision not to drink
on everyone else.
Art-P.O.G.|8.17.09 @ 2:30PM|#
when I tell her I drink five to ten drinks every Friday night and own three loaded and unlocked guns.
Sounds like a good time to me! (I'm assuming you don't have suicidal tendencies (not the band)).
Art-P.O.G.|8.17.09 @ 2:33PM|#
have a look at rational.org instead.
I'm amazed they can stand being rational and sober.
|8.17.09 @ 2:36PM|#
"Sounds like a good time to me! (I'm assuming you don't have
suicidal tendencies (not the band))."
Works for me.
|8.17.09 @ 2:46PM|#
Cato, it is my experience that 'godless progressives' are among
the last in line (perhaps to the front of libertarians criticizing
substance use. The 'individuals are part of a community' line is
straight out of the Christianist right's playbook - tied right in
with the need for personal responsibility - and often accompanied
by appeals to God, the soul, and the virtue of sobriety.
The godless can divorce the reality of drugs from the gross
sensationalism that usually dominates those discussions. And
progressives often understand the deleterious effect drug wars and
other forms of prohibition have on citizens and the republic.
Almost all forms of prohibition in the US are or were the result of
conservatives and Christians.
|8.17.09 @ 2:46PM|#
As State University of New York sociologist David J. Hanson puts it, binge "describes an extended period of time (typically at least two days) during which time a person repeatedly becomes intoxicated and gives up his or her usual activities and obligations in order to become intoxicated. It is the combination of prolonged use and the giving up of usual activities that forms the core of the clinical definition of [a] binge."
Childless, single shut-ins can drink all they want whenever they
want and never "binge?" Cool!
T|8.17.09 @ 2:46PM|#
what on earth is wrong with another person's choice not to
drink alcohol?
Not a damn thing, as long as they aren't trying to make everybody
else obey your twisted idea of the proper way to live.
Art-P.O.G.|8.17.09 @ 2:51PM|#
Why the complicated definition? Clearly binging involves blacking out and/or vomiting/urinating in unusual places.
T|8.17.09 @ 2:53PM|#
Why the complicated definition? Clearly binging involves
blacking out and/or vomiting/urinating in unusual
places.
Not necessarily. You can maintain a semi-functional buzz for a long
time without blacking out.
And what's an unusual place for urination? I'm male: the world is
my urinal.
Spartacus|8.17.09 @ 2:56PM|#
Spartacus:
are you out of coke too? cause that matters...
If there was any coke left, I wouldn't have passed out, and
therefore would still be on the same binge.
Meta4|8.17.09 @ 2:57PM|#
Off topic, but just as Mountain Dew refers to itself as "The
Dew", I think Butterfinger should refer to itself as "The Finger"
The ads would be great!
Want to make your teacher happy? Give her the finger.
anarch|8.17.09 @ 2:58PM|#
aren't trying to make everybody else obey your twisted idea of the proper way to live.
On what evidence do you judge that someone else's way of living,
which doesn't harm you, is "twisted"? Again, unless you're just
being silly.
But every so often I'm jolted by what at least appears to
be inordinate cultural intolerance hereabouts.
Spartacus|8.17.09 @ 2:58PM|#
Unless, of course, I was too drunk to find my nose. In which case passing out is probably for the best.
Citizen Nothing|8.17.09 @ 3:00PM|#
Awesome link, Longtorso.
BoozeTown would boast its own currency: visitors would exchange
their US dollars for BoozeBucks upon entrance. Each buck would be
backed by "liquid gold"-a vast vault stocked with barrels of
whiskey at the BoozeTown Bank.
Now why didn't I think of that?
anarch|8.17.09 @ 3:00PM|#
That is to say, which of us is deciding, even mentally, what is proper for others who haven't consulted us, let alone without knowledge of the particular facts of the case?
Paul|8.17.09 @ 3:02PM|#
Why the complicated definition? Clearly binging involves
blacking out and/or vomiting/urinating in unusual
places.
I think I'm binging right now!
Citizen Nothing|8.17.09 @ 3:02PM|#
My 21-year-old son is living the twisted life of a tee-totaler. I suppose it's his form of rebellion.
Art-P.O.G.|8.17.09 @ 3:03PM|#
Not necessarily. You can maintain a semi-functional buzz for a long time without blacking out.
Well, then you're good. To me, binging means going beyond rational limits of intake. I've pushed that barrier a couple times, but only exceeded it once.
Meta4|8.17.09 @ 3:07PM|#
"My 21-year-old son is living the twisted life of a tee-totaler.
I suppose it's his form of rebellion."
Then give him the finger.
Anonymous|8.17.09 @ 3:07PM|#
it is my experience that 'godless progressives' are among the last in line (perhaps to the front of libertarians criticizing substance use
Like the Soviet Orthodox?
Rich|8.17.09 @ 3:13PM|#
I always enjoy the look on her face during a physical when I
tell her I drink five to ten drinks every Friday night and own
three loaded and unlocked guns.
Given that she's "totally engulfed in the latest medical PC", I
trust you *smile* when you say that.
Brian Lockwood|8.17.09 @ 3:16PM|#
Almost all forms of prohibition in the US are or were the
result of conservatives and Christians.
Except for bans on trans-fats, automatic weapons and the eventual
ban on smoking.
hmm|8.17.09 @ 3:18PM|#
I had a boos that would kill a 6 pack on the drive home. Every
work day. 52 weeks a year.
To be fair it was a 1 hour drive home.
For a really interesting conversation if you home brew and our doc
asks if you drink just tell them you really don't know how many
drinks, you measure alcohol in 5 gallon kegs. Something about
measuring alcohol in gallons really freaks them out.
anarch|8.17.09 @ 3:18PM|#
Sorry, all. I'm clearly unqualified for this discussion, too sober in both senses of the word.
|8.17.09 @ 3:19PM|#
Even the nanny state's own medical bureaucrats admit that
whether one is bingeing or not has both quantity and time
functions.
Binge Drinking
Binge drinking is a common pattern of excessive alcohol use in the United States. The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism defines binge drinking as a pattern of drinking that brings a person's blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to 0.08 grams percent or above. This typically happens when men consume 5 or more drinks, and when women consume 4 or more drinks, in about 2 hours.
Most people who binge drink are not alcohol dependent. - the dad-burned gubmint
I added the bolding.
If getting legally drunk in under 2 (two) hours isn't a classic
binge, it is still reckless behavior if you've got the car keys. If
you aren't driving, it's just having a session. Perhaps it needs
its own term of art.
I've made this point previously on H&R, frex, here and
here
PDF of the NIAAA newsletter with the revised, 2004 definition
here.
Kevin
T|8.17.09 @ 3:21PM|#
That is to say, which of us is deciding, even mentally, what
is proper for others who haven't consulted us, let alone without
knowledge of the particular facts of the case?
Oh ho! It is perfectly appropriate for me to decide what is and is
not proper behavior in others. How else do we decide, as an
example, who's crazy and who's not? Or who we would prefer to
avoid? Nothing wrong with being judgemental, despite what many
would have you think in this age.
It is almost never appropriate for me to force them to comply with
my beliefs as to correct behavior. Unless, of course, they are my
kids.
Brian Lockwood|8.17.09 @ 3:25PM|#
Nothing wrong with being judgemental, despite what many
would have you think in this age.
Word. Anarch should buy you a six pack for explaining that to
him.
|8.17.09 @ 3:28PM|#
"""Except for bans on trans-fats, automatic weapons and the
eventual ban on smoking."""
Weapons aside, Mayor Bloomberg is a republican. Arkansas republican
ex-governor Huckabee passed a law in AR that makes it illegal to
smoke in your car if you have kids in it.
I'd bet that 90% of the pols that passed anti-weapon laws will
report their religion as christian. They may not all be
conservatives, but they are almost always christian.
Art-P.O.G.|8.17.09 @ 3:30PM|#
And what's an unusual place for urination? I'm male: the world is my urinal.
Only two criteria.
1) Did you get arrested? 2)Were you filled with a deep and abiding
sense of shame when your drinking buddy told you where you took a
whiz?
|8.17.09 @ 3:34PM|#
Art, in the 21st century, you must also ask if anyone took a picture. That shame you feel hearing about might not be as bad as shame you feel looking at it on the internet.
Ska|8.17.09 @ 3:39PM|#
I'd bet that 90% of the pols that passed anti-weapon laws
will report their religion as christian.
What % of politicians aren't Christian?
|8.17.09 @ 3:45PM|#
Well, "godless progressives" may be a bunch of liberals when it
comes to booze, but they sure as heck aren't about smoking, food
and consumption of products as a society. Who is it that has railed
for years (decades, even) about all the consumption in our culture,
all the excess, the houses that are too big, the cars and yachts
that are too expensive. They lament that poor people want to have a
better lot in life rather than suffering with a crappy house,
crappy car, etc.
Oh, and they nicknamed the current generation of big houses
"McMansions" ..... that's a two-fer!
The really smart western european "progressives" encourage a
drinking culture so that the silly proletarians don't notice how
crappy euro-progresso-demo-socialism really is.
Brian Lockwood|8.17.09 @ 3:49PM|#
I'd bet that 90% of the pols that passed anti-weapon laws
will report their religion as christian. They may not all be
conservatives, but they are almost always christian.
Being Religious or at least claiming to be religious is practically
a prerequisite for getting elected.
Art-P.O.G.|8.17.09 @ 3:52PM|#
The really smart western european "progressives" encourage a drinking culture so that the silly proletarians don't notice how crappy euro-progresso-demo-socialism really is.
Everybody wins!
And it's like Xeones said about the moralistic streak in politics:
they're Pureaucrats.
anarch, channeling|8.17.09 @ 3:55PM|#
Sorry, Bud (in both senses), I'm a True Believer when it comes
to being judg[e]*mental, so long the judge is possession of all
relevant facts. Calling "twisted" all abstention from alcohol (or
anything else) without knowing the reasons for the abstention,
seems, in the absence of clairvoyant capacities, kinda rash.
*see?
Kisses!
anarch the chargrined|8.17.09 @ 3:57PM|#
...is IN possession...
and you think I'm deficient in inebriation?
Art-P.O.G.|8.17.09 @ 4:00PM|#
I'd definitely respect someone for not drinking. Straight edge people are usually pretty cool.
|8.17.09 @ 4:03PM|#
Everybody wins!
Heh, an argument in favor of a culture of drunken debauchery! Only
problem is that you have to live in a stagnant western european
culture and economy. Not like that could ever happen here ..... oh
..... wait ..... uhhh, drink up boys!
NLGN|8.17.09 @ 4:16PM|#
What do you expect from an administration that represents itself
in a national media farce by choosing to drink a Bud Light. I'd
rather have two drinks a day than one shrink a week.
They are worried about 50 to 64 year olds getting hammered and
going apeshit townhall style because they are about to get fucked
out of what they thought was going to be a retirement as well as
decent health care.
ev|8.17.09 @ 4:38PM|#
This means that I can't remember the last day that I DIDN'T
binge drink. It's been definitely at least two years and a half
years.
For a while I thought that I might be an alcoholic, but I realized
that I was just bored.
|8.17.09 @ 4:54PM|#
T | August 17, 2009, 4:18pm | #
I blame gay drinking.
Isn't all drinking gay, or least convivial?
kind of a "joi de vino"?
|8.17.09 @ 5:09PM|#
TrickyVic says: Mayor Bloomberg is a republican.
If being a life-long Democrat means being a Republican, then
everyone is a Republican. Bloomberg switched his party registration
so he could run on Giuliani's coattails, while avoiding the
Democratic primary. Bloomberg switched to an Independent
registration during his second term.
bohica|8.17.09 @ 6:13PM|#
Off topic, but just as Mountain Dew refers to itself as "The
Dew", I think Butterfinger should refer to itself as "The Finger"
The ads would be great!
Want to make your teacher happy? Give her the finger.
I prefer: Want to make your teacher happy? Finger her!
Craig|8.17.09 @ 6:21PM|#
Yesterday, for example, I had a mint julep in the early
evening, a glass of wine during dinner, and a Tom Collins
afterward.
A mint julep? Aren't those only served at Kentucky Derby
parties?
A Tom Collins? You must be a Beltway Libertarian. Out West,
libertarians drink margaritas. (Except for maybe LoneWackO).
Craig|8.17.09 @ 6:23PM|#
I think L. Neil Smith said it best, but I don't recall if he was
referring to liberals, or all of the various authoritarian types
looking for the government to do something about this or that
supposed scourge:
They're worried that someone, somewhere, might actually be enjoying
themselves.
dfd|8.17.09 @ 6:39PM|#
our government defines "binge drinking" as consuming five or
more drinks on one occasion.
Now, what exactly counts as a different occasion? So let's say I
crush 4 PBR's at the river (hey it wasn't mine), have three glasses
of wine with dinner at Big River, four pints at Block 15, two Long
Islands at Bomb's Away, an AMF and a Jäger-bomb at the Peacock and
a Maker's night cap at China D before hitting the Circle K for a
Colt-45 on the way home. Isn't that seven different occasions?
Fletch|8.17.09 @ 9:15PM|#
trickyvic-
Art, in the 21st century, you must also ask if anyone took a
picture. That shame you feel hearing about might not be as bad as
shame you feel looking at it on the internet.
His link has him in Reynoldsburg (Tomato town!), he's surely heard
about the
MonkeeHeadinSouth|8.17.09 @ 9:19PM|#
"they also could move to the U.K., where two drinks a day are
considered perfectly acceptable."
perfectly acceptable my fecking arse
any poof drinkin less 5 pints of Stella a day is tarred and
feathered
|8.17.09 @ 9:19PM|#
trickyvic-
One more try...
Art, in the 21st century, you must also ask if anyone took a
picture. That shame you feel hearing about might not be as bad as
shame you feel looking at it on the internet.
His link has him in Reynoldsburg (Tomato town!), he's surely heard
about the
Fletch|8.17.09 @ 9:25PM|#
trickyvic-
Abracadabra! (and no linkage...) The video is also linked under my
name.
Art, in the 21st century, you must also ask if anyone took a
picture. That shame you feel hearing about might not be as bad as
shame you feel looking at it on the internet.
His link has him in Reynoldsburg (Tomato town!), he's surely heard
about the Main St. Camera Project
http://www.colscompact.com/camera.html
A You-tube sampler - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vnomL4i7fE
I, Kahn O\'Clast|8.17.09 @ 9:30PM|#
I "binge" most evenings. I binged before writing this... I am
thinking about bingey-jumping in a couple...
Oh, but then again I drink quite a bit. As they say: "if it was
good enough to kill grampa it's good enough for me."
EscapedWestOfTheBigMuddy|8.17.09 @ 11:34PM|#
The non-evangelical subspecies of Teetotaler is a great person
to have around when you want to engage in a proper bar-crawl. Buy
their [coffee|mountain dew|...] all night and you have ground
control, a designated driver, and someone to tell you what you did
after the fact.
What's not to like?
Ben|8.18.09 @ 1:19PM|#
Drink up, it has the same health benefits as exercise:
http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1703763_1703764_1710554,00.html
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