8 Drinks! Are You Kidding Me???
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It's cultural. I'm from one Asian country and live in another. In both, 8 drinks a week would be heavy drinking. However, in the UK it's perfectly normal. People can have at least half that many drinks on a weeknight and not catch any flack. That said, the UK has a lot of problems with alcoholism... anyway, the point is that many you should go with the doctors. Sometimes really unhealthy things can seem totally normal within a cultural context. Like smoking, for example.
Totally agree. My in-laws are Portuguese and they have a glass of wine with every meal. They aren't getting rocked all day, that's just what they drink with meals. My own dad is American but I would classify him as a heavy drinker in any culture - he typically drinks at least a 12 pack a day (although Bud Light should really count as water since it tastes like it :laugh: )0 -
I try and keep everything in moderation, enjoy good wine and get on with loving life.... Isnt it 'not the number of years in your life but the life in your years' that matters?
I love this!0 -
Just saying eight drinks seems really broad. Having eight beers in a week isn't a lot of alcohol consumed, but if your drink is just a tall glass of vodka then eight a week might be a problem. They should concentrate more on the percentage and less on how many glasses you wash/cans you throw away.0
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8 drinks in vodka terms means 8 1.5ounce shots. That's pretty much just like 8 beers. They have stated what they mean by each drink very clearly.Just saying eight drinks seems really broad. Having eight beers in a week isn't a lot of alcohol consumed, but if your drink is just a tall glass of vodka then eight a week might be a problem. They should concentrate more on the percentage and less on how many glasses you wash/cans you throw away.0 -
Years ago, I had a doctor who insisted that I was an Alcoholic, because I was consume 4 or more beers in one setting. Now, I told her that these sittings would only happen once every two months or so (as I do not drink that much.). She still insisted that I needed help, that I was an alcoholic and a binge drinker.
I never saw her after that.
By medical definition, a binge drinker is a woman who consumes 4 or more drinks during one sitting or a male who consumes 5 or more drinks during one sitting. So that is why she was referring to you as a binge drinker.
However, for a male to be considered a heavy drinker, he would need to consume 15+ drinks a week (which you do not do).
I get what you're saying re: binge drinking but I think the point he was trying to make is that the doctor shouldn't have been so insistent on such a negative label since it happened so infrequently. Labels have varying amounts of impact on people, as seen in this thread. If it were me in that situation, the all or nothing approach would have bothered me as well, but for others, they may use it as a way of denial. (Note: the denial thing isn't directed at anyone, just a thought in general because I could see people doing that.)
As for the 8 drinks making a woman a "heavy drinker," that seems a bit low, especially if it's 15 for men. I get that women are typically smaller than men, but it seems like a rather large disparity without having any idea as to the reasoning, which I'm willing to admit. So, if someone has the reason for this, I'd love to know.
Women are more vulnerable to alcohol's side effects.
I guess I'm asking if anyone knows why off the top of the head. If not, Google is my friend.
I told you why… "Women are more vulnerable to alcohol's side effects." They are at a higher risk of developing alcohol-related organ damage. They are also at a higher risk of car accidents if under the influence.
But if you need specifics… Women absorb and metabolize alcohol differently than men. Women have less body water than men, therefore women achieve higher concentrations of alcohol in the blood after drinking equivalent amounts of alcohol. Hence why women are considered heavy drinkers if they consume 8+ drinks a week, while men are considered heavy drinkers if they consume 15+ drinks a week.0 -
Years ago, I had a doctor who insisted that I was an Alcoholic, because I was consume 4 or more beers in one setting. Now, I told her that these sittings would only happen once every two months or so (as I do not drink that much.). She still insisted that I needed help, that I was an alcoholic and a binge drinker.
I never saw her after that.
By medical definition, a binge drinker is a woman who consumes 4 or more drinks during one sitting or a male who consumes 5 or more drinks during one sitting. So that is why she was referring to you as a binge drinker.
However, for a male to be considered a heavy drinker, he would need to consume 15+ drinks a week (which you do not do).
I get what you're saying re: binge drinking but I think the point he was trying to make is that the doctor shouldn't have been so insistent on such a negative label since it happened so infrequently. Labels have varying amounts of impact on people, as seen in this thread. If it were me in that situation, the all or nothing approach would have bothered me as well, but for others, they may use it as a way of denial. (Note: the denial thing isn't directed at anyone, just a thought in general because I could see people doing that.)
As for the 8 drinks making a woman a "heavy drinker," that seems a bit low, especially if it's 15 for men. I get that women are typically smaller than men, but it seems like a rather large disparity without having any idea as to the reasoning, which I'm willing to admit. So, if someone has the reason for this, I'd love to know.
Women are more vulnerable to alcohol's side effects.
I guess I'm asking if anyone knows why off the top of the head. If not, Google is my friend.
I told you why… "Women are more vulnerable to alcohol's side effects." They are at a higher risk of developing alcohol-related organ damage. They are also at a higher risk of car accidents if under the influence.
But if you need specifics… Women absorb and metabolize alcohol differently than men. Women have less body water than men, therefore women achieve higher concentrations of alcohol in the blood after drinking equivalent amounts of alcohol. Hence why women are considered heavy drinkers if they consume 8+ drinks a week, while men are considered heavy drinkers if they consume 15+ drinks a week.
That makes a good deal of sense, so thanks.
Unsure why you felt the need to include the first part considering I was pretty obviously asking for specifics and not sure why that's a bad thing, but whatever gets you through your day. Thanks again for allowing me to learn something new! I always appreciate that.0 -
Im hoping I have 8 drinks in me before the sun goes down...0
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8 drinks a week is "heavy" yet one glass of wine per day is good for heart health. One additional glass per week makes you a wino.0
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Yeah. I predict a back peddle from one group or the other soon.8 drinks a week is "heavy" yet one glass of wine per day is good for heart health. One additional glass per week makes you a wino.0 -
I worked at a medical practice of 7 physicians and during lunch one day they all agreed that if they had female patients that drank 7 drinks a week, they'd classify them as heavy drinkers.
I disagree, I think it depends on the person. How small is this woman? How much muscle mass do they have? Are they dependent on those drinks each night (to sleep, to relax etc...) or are they drinking 7 drinks over 3 nights during the week because they have a job at a bar or restaurant? (Is it environmental, not a dependency?)
This is what made me realize doctors generally aren't very smart when judging their patients, it's not just "the media" :grumble:0 -
I would say that the CDC's evaluation of this is centered around the health implications of alcohol and not the social aspects that most people here seem to be thinking of. I don't think they are calling women alcoholics for having a drink or two a night but saying that that is too much for their bodies (I say their and not our because I don't drink ever). Just because a person has two drinks a week after work doesn't by any means mean they are alcoholics but it could very well have a large impact on their body which would be what the CDC was concerned with.0
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Correct. If memory served they didn't say much of anything about alcoholism, other than it's a risk. Rarely do professionals de facto conclude that heavy drinkers (by whatever definition) are alcoholics.I would say that the CDC's evaluation of this is centered around the health implications of alcohol and not the social aspects that most people here seem to be thinking of. I don't think they are calling women alcoholics for having a drink or two a night but saying that that is too much for their bodies (I say their and not our because I don't drink ever). Just because a person has two drinks a week after work doesn't by any means mean they are alcoholics but it could very well have a large impact on their body which would be what the CDC was concerned with.0 -
Well I guess you're either light, moderate, or heavy, right? So if 1 a day is moderate, then more than that is heavy. Just illustrates the problems with collapses continuous data (number of drinks) into categorical data (type of drinker). It considers someone who drinks 8/week to be more similar to someone who drinks 20/week than to someone who drinks 7/week.
Signed: Someone who drinks more than 8 a week, usually as a glass of wine or two with dinner, and has never thought very highly of epidemiologists.0 -
I'm having two 5 oz glasses of merlot tonight. Suck it, CDC, I'm going to live forevah!0
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We've got a lot of heavy drinkers getting highly offended up in this thread. Calm down, people. Don't be so sensitive. They said heavy drinkers, not alcoholics. :drinker: :laugh:0
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We've got a lot of heavy drinkers getting highly offended up in this thread. Calm down, people. Don't be so sensitive. They said heavy drinkers, not alcoholics. :drinker: :laugh:
Haha. Maybe I am a bit sensitive. Especially since I freely admit I'd be drunk all the time if it weren't for the inevitable hangovers.0 -
We've got a lot of heavy drinkers getting highly offended up in this thread. Calm down, people. Don't be so sensitive. They said heavy drinkers, not alcoholics. :drinker: :laugh:
I definitely don't drink 8 drinks in a week, so I'm not getting defensive, but I do disagree with the idea that 8 drinks is a lot.
Like I said in a previous post, I know doctors who would classify females (in their medical charts) as "heavy drinkers" if they drank 7 drinks per week.
This means that any other doctor this person sees in the future will see "heavy drinker" in their chart and no other information. When another doctor classifies a patient as something like "heavy drinker" they get stigmatized, even if it's not actually a dependency issue for them.0 -
I don't think it's about stigma or dependency or whether you FEEL like you're a heavy drinker or not - those are personal perception issues. Doctors should know if you're drinking every night. It could affect your diagnosis and/or treatment options. :flowerforyou:0
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If it bothers you that much, it might be a good idea to ask yourself why.
This^^0 -
Is 7 drinks a week considered being a heavy drinker...one glass of wine a day? I think not.. but all the sugar in alcohol keeps me far away from it except on occasion. To each his own.
That's why I like bourbon. No sugar!0
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