Consumption Patterns

"The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey reported that more than half of the adult US population drank alcohol in the past thirty days. Of the total population who drank alcohol, approximately 5 percent drank heavily, while 15 percent binge drank. Binge drinking, as defined by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, is when men consume five or more drinks, and when women consume four or more drinks, in two hours or less. Alcohol in excess is detrimental to health; however, since its beginnings it has been suspected and promoted as a benefit to the body and mind when consumed in moderation. In the United States, the Dietary Guidelines define moderate alcohol intake as no more than one drink per day for women and no more than two drinks per day for men. Although drunkenness has pervaded many cultures, drinking in moderation has long been a mantra of multiple cultures with access to alcohol."