​As the weekend arrives, here are the cautions on binge drinking for your perusal​

Binge drinking refers to excessive consumption of alcohol. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US CDC) defines binge drinking as consuming 5 or more drinks for men and 4 or more for women. A noticeable pattern in binge drinking is observed during the weekend. People tend to drink more during the last days of the week which makes it even more important to know that there are several serious health complications that can arise out of this drinking habit. Read this article to find out the different health issues that can arise from binge drinking.

As per a report by the World Health Organisation (WHO), alcohol consumption contributes to 3 million deaths each year globally, and harmful use of alcohol is responsible for 5.1% of the global burden of disease. It is held accountable for 10% of the deaths that occur prematurely.

The WHO defines alcohol as a toxic, psychoactive, and dependence-producing substance and its cancer research arm, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies it under Group 1 carcinogen along with asbestos, radiation, and tobacco. Alcohol is responsible for seven types of cancer.

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In January 2023, the WHO released guidelines on alcohol consumption in which it urged people to not consume alcohol. On "a safe" level of alcohol for human consumption, a WHO expert says, "We cannot talk about a so-called safe level of alcohol use. It doesn’t matter how much you drink – the risk to the drinker’s health starts from the first drop of any alcoholic beverage. The only thing that we can say for sure is that the more you drink, the more harmful it is – or, in other words, the less you drink, the safer it is."

Binge drinking increases the risk of sexually transmitted diseases. People tend to make risky sexual behavior when they are intoxicated. A 2008 study found a link between STDs and binge drinking behaviour. It found that having multiple sex partners was more than twice as common among women binge drinkers than women abstainers and the risk of gonorrhea was nearly 5 times higher among women binge drinkers. In men, it found that the rates of risky sexual behaviors/STDs were high, but did not differ by alcohol use.

Excessive alcohol can lead to high blood pressure, heart failure and other cardiovascular complications. Though there are studies that support moderate consumption of alcohol and recommend having 'moderate' amount of alcohol, studies have also found the damaging effect of alcohol even when it is consumed in moderate amounts.

Alcohol stops the body from burning fat, and increases cravings for salty foods and subsequently increases weight. Obesity is the first step towards almost every chronic disease. Obesity has been a serious concern among health agencies worldwide.