Do you smell that? Football is in the air! And so is the smell of hotdogs, chili, and … drunk people?
We all love a brew while watching the game. No big. The only problem is that everyone tends to overdo the drinking during game parties and while tailgating, because they don’t realize just how much they have had to drink over the course of a few hours. According to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention, “Binge drinking means men drinking five or more alcoholic drinks … or women drinking four or more drinks within a short period of time.” In fact, the Center reports that:
- 1 in 6 (more than 38 million US adults) binge drink
Click on image to view full size - Binge drinkers do so about 4 times a month
- The age group with the most binge drinkers is 18 – 34 years.
- Most alcohol-impaired drivers binge drink
- Most people who binge drink are not alcohol dependent or alcoholics
While these stats reflect year round occurrences, let’s narrow that down to game day stats. A study from University of Texas at Austin and Kent State University found that “High-profile football game days were among the heaviest days for alcohol consumption, comparable to consumption on other well-known drinking days such as New Year’s Eve and Halloween weekend.”
A different study from the University of Minnesota found that those who tailgated before a sporting events were 14 times more likely to be legally drunk (BAC>0.08 ) and those under the age of 35 were almost 8 times more likely to be legally drunk. Additionally, the study states that if their sample were representative of all individuals attending professional football events, approximately 5,000 attendees leaving one game would be over the legal BAC limit to drive.
WOAH! Think about it, that’s a whole lot of drunk drivers shoved into one spot. I don’t think anyone, in their sober, right mind would want to be around there when that happens.
But who can pass up football? So here are some tips to better prepare yourself for the upcoming tailgating and football festivities:
- Know your limit. Learn in a safe environment and really pay attention to how you feel and how each drink affects you.
- Eat! Munch on those hot dogs, and chow on that chili! High protein foods like meat, cheese and nuts will help slow (NOT PREVENT) the absorption of alcohol into your body.
- Pace yourself to a drink an hour – your body only eliminates.015% an hour which is about half a drink! Alternating between non-alcoholic beverages is also a good idea.
- Avoid chugging contests, beer pong, flip cup and other games that involve fast drinking. If you are going to play use something other than alcohol or have multiple members on a single team.
- Get a Designated Unimpaired Driver Extraordinaire (DUDE) or call a cab.
For more information on binge drinking, go to http://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/bingedrinking/
Hook ‘Em Horns and Heavy Drinking: Alcohol Use and Collegiate Sports> http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2527738/
Can We Assess Blood Alcohol Levels of Attendees Leaving Professional Sporting Events?> http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1530-0277.2010.01386.x/full