About 1 in 5 Young Women Binge Drink

The CDC today released new stats on binge drinking among women, calling it an under-appreciated problem that often begins in high school. For CDC purposes, binge drinking for females is defined as having more than four glasses in one sitting. Some stats passed along via USA Today, CNN, and Medscape:

• 1 in 5 high school girls report binge drinking
• 1 in 4 women aged 18 to 24
• 1 in 5 women aged 25 to 34
• 1 in 8 women overall, or about 14 million
• Binge drinking is most common among women with household incomes of $75,000 or more
• Of 23,000 annual deaths attributed to excessive alcohol use among females, binge drinking accounts for more than half
• Generally speaking, women are shifting from beer to distilled spirits

• "Binge drinking is a serious and unrecognized problem among women and girls, and it is associated with a wide range of health issues, including violence, injury, sexually transmitted disease, and unwanted pregnancy," says CDC chief Thomas Frieden.

(More binge drinking stories.)