|
|
Wisconsin Leads Nation in Binge Drinking, Says CDC; Seven Midwest States in Top Ten
February 4, 2011
Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers, in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Wikimedia Commons photo)
(CNSNews.com) - Wisconsin, home state of the NFC Champion Green Bay Packers, leads the nation for the percentage of adult residents who are binge drinkers (22.8 percent), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Pennsylvania, home state of the AFC Champion Pittsburgh Steelers who face the Packers in Sunday’s Super Bowl, placed 17th among the 50 states and the District of Columbia for the percentage of its adult residents who are binge drinkers (16.7 percent).
Binge drinkers are defined as men who consumed five or more drinks and women who consumed four or more drinks on at least one occasion in the month before they were surveyed.
The percentage of binge drinkers per state was derived from the results of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, a health survey that conducted telephone interviews with a random sample of 414,509 people 18 years and older nationwide between January and December of 2008. The state-by-state data was published by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the Dec. 10, 2010 issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Seven of the Top 10 states for binge drinkers—including Wisconsin (1), North Dakota (2), Iowa (3), Minnesota (4), Illinois (5), Nebraska (6), and South Dakota (10)—are in the Midwest. The other three jurisdictions rounding out the Top 10 are Nevada (7), Delaware (tied for 8th) and the District of Columbia (tied for 8th).
Utah had the lowest percentage of residents who are binge drinkers (8.2 percent).
Eight of the 10 states that have the lowest percentage of binge drinkers in the nation are in the South or border the South. These include Arkansas (42nd), South Carolina (43rd), Oklahoma (44th), Alabama (45th), Kentucky (47th), Mississippi (48th), Tennessee (49th), and West Virginia (50th).
New Mexico (46th) also was among the bottom ten states for the percentage of adults who are binge drinkers.
Here is the complete ranking of the 50 states and the District of Columbia by the percentage of adults who are binge drinkers:
State Percentage of Adults Who Binge Drink
1. Wisconsin 22.8
2. North Dakota 21.6
3. Iowa 20.2
4. Minnesota 19.8
5. Illinois 19.4
6. Nebraska 19.1
7. Nevada 18.8
8. Delaware 17.9
8. District of Columbia 17.9
10. South Dakota 17.8
11. Massachusetts 17.7
11. Michigan 17.7
11. Montana 17.7
14. Hawaii 17.6
15. Rhode Island 17.5
16. Vermont 17.4
17. Pennsylvania 16.7
18. Connecticut 16.6
19. New Hampshire 16.5
20. Indiana 16.1
21. Colorado 16.0
22. Alaska 15.9
23. Ohio 15.8
23. Maine 15.8
25. Arizona 15.6
25. California 15.6
27. Wyoming 15.4
28. Missouri 15.3
29. Washington 15.1
30. Texas 14.7
30. New York 14.7
32. New Jersey 14.0
32. Georgia 14.0
34. Maryland 13.8
34. Kansas 13.8
36. Virginia 13.7
37. Louisiana 13.5
38. Idaho 13.1
39. Florida 13.0
40. North Carolina 12.9
41. Oregon 12.8
42. Arkansas 12.6
43. South Carolina 12.3
44. Oklahoma 12.2
45. Alabama 12.0
46. New Mexico 11.4
47. Kentucky 11.3
48. Mississippi 10.8
49. Tennessee 10.5
50. West Virginia 8.8
51. Utah 8.2
