The term “binge drinking” has been around for a while to define alcoholism, particularly among the college population. However, the term does not encompass a percentage of college students who drink beyond the binge drinking thresholds.
In women, binge drinking is defined as drinking about four servings of alcohol in one evening. For men, drinking five drinks is classified as binge drinking. In colleges across the nation, though, drinking two or three times the binge drinking threshold is somewhat common, which has lead researchers to coin a new alcoholism term: extreme drinking.
The new term applies to men or women who imbibe in alcohol well beyond the binge drinking threshold, and a study was conducted to ascertain the levels of extreme drinking across the United States, focusing on 14 U.S. college campuses.
Findings show that students often participate in extreme drinking, with 20% of men and 10% of women surveyed reporting an extreme drinking episode in a two week time period. And those percentages could be misleading.
Many students do not know exact serving sizes of alcoholic drinks. With bartenders and home mix-masters serving alcoholic drinks that may contain more than one serving of alcohol, students who participated in the survey may have underestimated the total amount of alcohol consumed.
Even though the study focuses on college students, extreme drinking can be applied to all subsets of the population, including teens and adults. So if you or a loved one frequently drink more than four or five drinks in one night, extreme drinking could apply.
For help with alcoholism and alcohol rehab, you may wish to contact an alcohol rehab center. Many exist across the nation, and centers like Vista Taos Renewal Center could help you or your family member recover from extreme drinking or other alcoholism issues. Vista Taos takes a holistic approach to substance abuse and alcohol rehabilitation; it is not like your typical treatment facility. With the focus on getting the patient’s entire mind and body well, the chances of lifelong sobriety are greater than a standard treatment process. If you or a loved one are tired of being weighed by the chains of alcoholism, let Vista Taos offer treatment assistance today.
