A study recently completed at the University of Pittsburgh calls for redefining the definition of binge drinking for youth because the current criteria used to assess blood alcohol concentration (BAC's) and binge drinking behavior is based on adult physiology.  Binge drinking has been defined as a pattern of drinking that brings a person's BAC to greater than .08, a level accompanied by significant physical and mental impairment and the level currently used to define drunk driving in the U.S.  Typically, this has meant five drinks for a man or four drinks for a woman within a two-hour period.
 
Dr. Donavan, a Pitt State researcher used youth and adult body compositions and alcohol elimination rates from a National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to create an updated formula to estimate BAC's for 4,700 kids and teens ages 9 to 17 for alcohol intake levels of one to five standard drinks to determine the number of drinks at each age that led to a BAC of greater than .08.  Dr. Donovan's results suggest that the definitions of binge drinking and heavy drinking should both be redefined.
 
"When kids and young teens use alcohol, it puts them at heightened risk for later alcohol and drug dependence, delinquency, early pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, as well as involvement in motor vehicle crashes, " added Dr. Donovan.  "Since considerably fewer ddrinks are needed to get high BAC levels in children, pediatricians and nurse practitioners who screen kids for alcohol use should intervene at much lower levels of alcohol involvement than previously thought."
 
Dr. Donovan's research was funded by grants from the National Institute on Alcohol Aubse and Alcoholism.