Millions of high school-aged girls and women binge drink, which can have disastrous results including long-term health effects, the CDC warned in a new report.
For females, binge drinking means consuming four or more drinks in one sitting. For males, it's five or more drinks. One in every eight women and one in five high school girls reports binge drinking.
Previous reports have focused on higher rates of binge drinking among males, but the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in its report, aims to raise awareness of binge drinking among women as a serious problem that's held steady for more than a decade.
"Although binge drinking is more of a problem among men and boys, binge drinking is an important and under-recognized women's health issue," said Dr. Thomas Frieden, CDC director.
Of the estimated 23,000 annual deaths attributed to excessive alcohol use among women and girls, binge drinking was responsible for more than half of those deaths, said Frieden.
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