Why More Women Are Binge Drinking (And Why It's Not Your Fault)
Oct 07, 2026Wine o'clock. Mommy juice. "I earned this."
Somewhere along the way, a drink became the default way women unwind. And if it feels like
everyone around you is reaching for one, you're not imagining it.
The numbers back it up.
What the research shows
First, a definition, because it's lower than most people think. For women, the CDC counts binge
drinking as four or more drinks on one occasion. (CDC)
- About 1 in 8 women binge drink. A CDC analysis of 2011 survey data found 12.5% of
adult women reported it, averaging about three binge episodes a month and nearly six
drinks each time. (CDC) - The gap with men is closing. A 2025 JAMA study found that among adults 18 to 25,
women's binge drinking (21.8%) edged past men's (19.9%) in 2021–2023. In
2017–2019, men's rates were higher. (Study summary; Maryland Psychiatric Society
Foundation) - It's not just young women. An NIH study found binge drinking among women 60 and
older rose about 3.7% a year from 1997 to 2014, while holding steady among men that
age. (Harvard Health) - The pandemic pushed it up. In a RAND survey of 1,540 adults ages 30 to 80, women's
heavy drinking days rose 41% in spring 2020 compared with the year before (from 0.44
to 0.62 days a month on average). (UPI, reporting on the JAMA Network Open study) - Alcohol-related deaths rose faster for women. CDC data show deaths from excessive
drinking climbed about 35% among women between 2016 and 2021, compared with
about 27% among men. Men still account for more deaths overall. (UPI, reporting on the
CDC report)
One fair caution: the study authors say the narrowing gap among young adults may partly
reflect men's rates falling faster. But for women, the line in these groups is heading up, not
down.
If you're a man reading this: men still binge drink at higher rates overall, and everything here
applies to you, too.
Why women, and why now
It's tempting to read numbers like these as a personal failing. They aren't. Several forces have
been pushing in the same direction at once.
We were marketed to. Journalist Ann Dowsett Johnston, author of Drink: The Intimate
Relationship Between Women and Alcohol, says alcohol marketing has been aimed at women
since the mid-1990s, starting with sweet, easy-drinking alcopops designed to get women
drinking like men. Then "wine mom" culture turned a glass of wine into shorthand for stress
relief. (CBC)
It works fast. Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant, which makes it the quickest way
to change how you feel. But it's never about the liquid. It's about what we believe it does for
us. When you're stressed, tired, or running on empty, nothing seems to change your state
faster. Until it stops working that way.
Our bodies take it harder. Women typically have less body water than men, and alcohol mostly
stays in body water. So the same amount of alcohol generally leads to a higher blood alcohol
level. NIAAA also notes that women tend to have alcohol-related problems sooner and at lower
amounts, and are more prone to hangovers and blackouts from comparable doses. Women are
also less likely than men to receive treatment. (NIAAA)
Marketing told women to drink like men. Our bodies never got the memo.
What the statistics can't show
Four drinks is the CDC's line for women. When I was in it, I didn't feel anywhere near a line. I
thought, I'll just have one or two. Then somewhere in the night, there was no off switch.
Most women I talk to aren't in crisis. They're in the gray area. They're capable, high-achieving,
and they know better. And they keep making the same promise to themselves and watching it
slip away, which leaves them doubting themselves.
Nothing about you is broken. What's missing is the explanation. One piece of it is called Fading
Affect Bias: the sting of an unpleasant memory fades faster than we expect, so the "never again" you meant so sincerely starts to feel less convincing as the weekend approaches. That's
not a gap in discipline. It's how memory works.
And once you understand a pattern, you can start working with it instead of fighting yourself.
Start here
I put everything I wish I'd known into a free guide, Why You Keep Starting Over Every Monday.
It explains Fading Affect Bias, how it shows up in the weekend drinking cycle, and a simple
exercise to help you keep Monday's perspective in view.
Get the Free Guide →
You're not the only one. And you don't have to stay stuck.
Sources
- CDC, Binge Drinking Among Adults, by Select Characteristics and State, 2018 (MMWR)
- CDC, Vital Signs: Binge Drinking Among Women and High School Girls, 2011 data
(MMWR)
- Shuey B, et al., JAMA, 2025;333(20):1831-1833, summarized by Consultant360 and
Maryland Psychiatric Society Foundation
- Harvard Health, Binge drinking continues to rise, particularly among women and seniors
- Pollard MS, et al., RAND, JAMA Network Open, 2020, via UPI
- CDC, MMWR, 2024 (Esser et al.), via UPI
- CBC, Ann Dowsett Johnston on the "pinking" of alcohol marketing
- NIAAA, Women and Alcohol
