It's not just for kids anymore. A new study in the American Journal of Psychiatry states that binge drinking, defined as consuming more than five drinks in one sitting over the past month, has actually gone up. 

Among those age 5O-65, 23 percent of men and 9 percent of women say that they have consumed alcohol in that way. And the profiles of these people defy conventional wisdom. Men are usually wealthy and unmarried.   Women are employed and may use prescription medications for recreational purposes. Both have higher rates of sexually transmitted diseases. 

The health costs are high. For those who binge drink, injuring themselves and others due to risky behavior leads the list. But other well known problems are also there: liver damage, stroke, dementia, heart disease. Alcohol can damage every organ in the body. 

The other problem with binge drinking is that doctors may miss it because it is episodic. So take a look at your own drinking patterns.   If you easily drink two or three alcoholic beverages at a sitting, double check yourself to make sure you aren't on the edge of becoming a binge drinker and a statistic.