Posted on 08/25/2009 10:48:17 AM PDT by Berlin_Freeper
The early baby boomers may be known as the generation of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. But it turns out, they're hitting the bottle pretty hard as they age, as well. And that portends significant alcohol-related health problems ahead as those mid-lifers become seniors.
A new study finds that among men and women 50 to 64 years old, almost 1 in 4 men and 1 in 10 women is a "binge" drinker -- meaning that at some point in the last 30 days, he or she has downed four (for women) or five (for men) servings of alcohol in a single two-hour sitting. Such alcohol abuse -- roughly defined as the amount needed to attain a blood-alcohol level of .08 (the level at which most states consider a driver intoxicated) -- frequently escapes the notice of physicians, even though it presents an escalating health risk as the drinker ages.
The study, published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, found that binge drinkers are more likely to use tobacco or illicit drugs than those who do not drink.
(Excerpt) Read more at islandpacket.com ...
5 is a binge?
This must be another one of those satire pieces.
What the hell, we’re not young and pretty anymore—we need to do something. BTW, I don’t smoke and haven’t used anything illicit in a while (was never my thing to begin with) lalala: “I like beer, makes me a jolly good fellow”
4 shots is not a binge.
What planet do these people come from?
The other day they were attacked as druggies, now alchy’s....see a division being formed for the young to hate the elderly...? What stands stronger, accusations or bloodlines?
We are blessed today. A second article in a single day that tends to bash a group of people on account of the date on their birth certificate. None of us have any control on when we were born and virtue and vice are found in every “generation”.
-—IMHO, if one had taken the same survey during every decade back to 1700 AD, you wouldn’t find much variation in the numbers of “binge” drinkers-—
I’ll drink to that!
They are just setting up refusal of health care for self inflicted ailments. No way they can afford to treat all the baby boomers thru old age.
Irresponsible old farts! Cut off their access to all medical care. NOW!
Planet Nanny-state. Anything ‘they’ don’t approve of is going to cause some national disaster and MUST be stopped by the intervention of government.
I say get the heck out of people’s lives and stay out!
5 drinks in 2 hours is MY idea of a binge. Even in my drinkingest days, don’t think I could have done that.
Five beers in two hours once a month? Oh the humanity. I smell an excuse for legislation.
I agree. What about a big all day picnic, of playing touch football, BBQ lunch BBq dinner, water stuff........five beers is nothing?
I wish these “studies” would say what they really mean.
Well, actually, you probably would find a significant difference.
IIRC in 1700 AD there still weren't that many people that LIVED to be 50 to 64 years of age.
BTW, does anyone have a Nanny state ping list?
I am a christian and don’t see a problem with drinking. Baptist born and bred. I like a glass of wine or a beer with BBQ. Does not mean I am a drunk or any other lable... I am a baby boomer and I do like to par-take in adult beverages from time to time. Most people in my Baptist Church are of same thinking.
one of the few releases which doesn’t show up the next day when you get randomly wee-wee tested.
I would define a harmful level of alcohol consumption to be that which causes liver function tests to become abnormal. A doctor can spot that in a second.
It’s that binge sobriety that should worry people...
Firstly Miss Professional Journalist that should be .08 percent not an insignificant omission.
And for years until the nanny-crowd took over the rate was .1 percent.
I wonder if there is a study on the number of serious accidents that have occurred when the driver's BAC was between .08 percent and .1 percent.
Apparently, these Boomers didn’t get the memo they’re only supposed to take drugs on the government-approved list of acceptable drugs.
Keeps the natives scared of their own "sins" and clinging to their socialized medicine.
Looks like the US papers are now copying the tactics of the folks across the pond to try to achieve their level of Gov't control.
Me too! 5 drinks in 2 hours and i’d be passed out or in the ER having my stomach pumped! LOL!
Bourbon Ping List. Related thread.
4 or 5 drinks is a binge??? A binge is when you fall off the wagon after being good for awhile and disappear for a couple of weeks.
I just wonder how many of my fellow boomers will finally abandon the "party"/ideology they supported for so many years?
Just my opinion, but I'm not so sure you can define it in terms of the number of shots/drinks. I guess it depends on the individual. What may not be a binge for some people could be for others.
But you're right, that isn't a binge. A binge is guzzling a fifth of scotch at a fraternity party and puking on your shoes. Or waking up dead.
5 drinks cant remember the last time I had time to do that.
Depends on what is happening and what is being drank for me.
Sitting playing cards, eating, and drinking shots - 5 in two hours ain't bad.
Drinking 5 shots on an empty stomach in two hours - bad idea.
In my younger years this was nothing.
As far as I know, in my hometown in southern Illinois, I still hold the record for drinking the most bottles of rotgut wine in a 24 hour period without vomiting. 13 bottles.
Wine? With BBQ? Really?
You must admit that a blood alcohol level of .08 (8 %) does indeed constitute intoxication!
Boomers binge while watching their grandchildren get degrees in bingeing in American colleges.
I may be an aging boomer but I still get really really good groups at the hundred yard range. Better than any 20-something I see out there. I think that skill will mean more in the coming years than writing hack pieces for a dying newspaper.
I can’t remember the last time I did that either. Or the previous 24 hours.
Wimps.
5 is a binge?
Me to!....L.O.L.!
One more thing. Only a complete idiot pays any attention top the American Psychiatric Association.
Well Soviet Russia was so dreary and depressing and all there was to do was drink Vodka. Obama is turning US into the new USSR, so vodka etc could become a problem. When there is no hope for change, as Obama is doing to us.
Which is why they don't like it - they can't sell an expensive "intervention" program when there's no cause for alarm. So they are now seeking to invent a cause for alarm.
Dead drunk. If you can do in once a month you should get your own Sci Fi series.
Or become and editor for the LA Times.
I’m 49 and I’ve slowed WAAAAYYYY down from my college days. I was most definitely a binge drinker in college. I’d only drink on days ending in the letter “y.”
Now, I don’t drink distilled spirits at all, but will go through a 12 pack about every two weeks or so. Mostly working outside, cooking on the grill, etc... Studies I’ve seen say that actually promotes good health.
I don’t think of four or five beers as a “binge.” I do think 8 or 9 in an evening is definitely a binge.
More Nannystate “compassion,” defining their terms to what suits them in promoting their agenda.
Boy...bet I could drink just about everyone on this thread under the table! LOVE my beer... beer beer beer! ;)
Hell!.....with the current cast of morons in charge....I NEED A BINGE!....DAMMIT!
No kidding. By that standard I've been on a binge since the Carter Administration.
I be 49 as well and having by tooth and nail to this last and final year... before I go over the slope!
having=hanging. Eye sight first to go!
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