Illinois is famous for many things, such as its interesting culture, historical places, and lively cities. But did you know that some of the biggest drinkers in the country live in Illinois?
The CDC says that an adult binge drinker has four or more drinks in one sitting or five or more drinks for men. Illinois is sixth on the list of states with the highest number of adult binge drinkers.
A new study gives us this information. Twenty-one percent of people in Illinois say they drink too much, which can hurt their health and social standing.
The City With the Highest Rate of Alcohol Consumption in Illinois
But which place in Illinois has the most heavy drinkers? The 2020 County Health Rankings & Roadmaps give us information on many health indicators for each county in the country. That’s where we need to look for solutions.
The study looks at the number of adult respondents in each county who say they binge or heavy drink, which means they drink too much. You can find the Illinois city where people drink the most by comparing the data for the counties that are home to the state’s biggest towns.
The results were surprising. Bloomington, a smaller town in central Illinois, has the highest number of adults who say they drink too much. This is not Chicago, which is the biggest and most populous city in the state.
Over 21.8% of people in Bloomington drink too much, which is a little more than the state average and a lot more than the national average of 19.0%. Bloomington is the county seat of McLean County, which has 22.3% of its adult people who are drunk or high. It is also the most drunk county in Illinois.
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Reasons Behind Bloomington’s High Alcohol Consumption
There could be several reasons why so many people in the city drink alcohol. One reason is that the area has two large colleges, Illinois State University and Illinois Wesleyan University, which together have over 23,000 students.
People in college, especially those 18 to 25 years old, drink more than most people, and they often drink all at once. Another reason is that many Americans are under a lot of economic and social stress, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, which makes them drink and abuse alcohol more.
A poll from Johns Hopkins University, the University of Maryland, and Baltimore found that after March 1, 2020, 60.1% of people said they drank more alcohol, and 45.7% said it was because they were under more stress.
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To Conclude
Illinois has some good points, but the high rates of heavy drinking, especially in Bloomington, are a cause for concern. Pay attention to the mix of young college students, financial stress, and a possible rise in drinking problems because of the pandemic.
Bloomington and the rest of Illinois can think of different ways to solve this problem. To stop people from binge drinking and make everyone healthier, it’s important to make them more aware of the risks of drinking too much, make it easy for them to get help for their mental health, and build groups that support healthy ways to deal with stress.
Illinois can only really stand out for these unique things: not just for its historic and lively cities, but also for the health of its people.
