The Worst U.S. States For Binge Drinking

Alcohol abuse can result in health problems including memory loss, poor decision making, fetal damage, liver diseases, hypertension and cardiovascular problems. A recent report by the United Health Foundation found that 18.5 percent of U.S. adults engage in binge or chronic drinking. Binging is defined as having four or more (for women) or five or more (for men) drinks on one occasion in the past 30 days. Chronic drinking is having eight or more (for women) or 15 or more (for men) drinks per week. The U.S. has an annual average of 87,798 alcohol attributable deaths while 12,460 road deaths were due to alcohol consumption between 2006 and 2010.

An estimated 2.5 million years of U.S. life have been lost due to alcohol abuse between 2006 and 2010. As well as its massive impact on human health, alcohol also has huge financial and economic repercussions. Excessive alcohol consumption cost the U.S. $249 billion in 2010 or $2.05 for each beverage consumed. The lowest rates of excessive drinking in U.S. states were recorded in West Virginia (11.8 percent), Oklahoma (12.8 percent) and Utah (13.4 percent). The following infographic shows the 10 states with the highest levels of binge and chronic drinking with Wisconsin on top with 26.2 percent. North Dakora comes second with 25.9 percent while Minnesota rounds off the top three with 22.9 percent.