WASHINGTON — A new study shows that a town in the D.C. region has the highest percentage of adults who drink.
The study in the American Journal of Public Health finds that 78.7 percent of drinking-age adults in Falls Church, Virginia, have at least one drink a month, USA TODAY reports.
Ali Mokdad, the lead author of the study and a professor at the University of Washington, tells USA TODAY that it’s because it’s a relatively well-off community.
“Educated, affluent (people) enjoy a glass of wine every night,” Mokdad said to USA TODAY. “They can afford it, and they are cautious about their health.”
The study also takes an in-depth, county-by-county look at binge drinking and heavy drinking and finds that the problem is getting worse in New England, the West Coast and in the northern reaches of the West and Midwest.
Poverty, stress and access to alcohol — a lot of bars and liquor stores packed closely together — are cited as the most important factors.
In Menominee County, Wisconsin — home of the Menominee Indian reservation — 36 percent of drinking-age adults binge-drink — the highest in the nation. Madison County, Idaho, on the other hand, has the lowest percentage — 5.9 percent.
The study defines heavy drinking as more than two drinks a day for men and more than one for women. Binge drinking was defined as five or more drinks at a time for men, four or more for women.
The study also finds that women drink much less than men do, but much more than previously.
