Do we drink too much in Acadiana?

We're drinkers here in Acadiana. Many of us like a nice alcoholic beverage at the end of a work day, during a meal or while visiting with friends. So much of our culture centers on food and alcohol.

You probably already knew that, but the results of a study published April 23 in the American Journal of Public Health that looks at alcohol consumption across the United States by county — parish in Louisiana — support that assumption.

A little more than than half of the women and 68 percent of the men in Lafayette Parish who participated in a 2012 telephone survey said they drank at least one alcoholic beverage in the previous 30 days.

Combined, that averages out to about 60 percent of adults in Lafayette Parish drinking at least one beer, glass of wine or other alcoholic drink in the month prior to the survey.

Although Lafayette's the happiest city in the United States, it's not because we're the biggest drinkers. In Falls Church, Virginia, nearly 79 percent of adults said they consumed at least one drink in the month before the survey. The national average was 56 percent, so we're close to average.

There's some good news: Not a single Louisiana parish showed up on the top-10 list for binge drinking, heavy drinking or any drinking.

The bad news: All nine Acadiana parishes experienced an increase in drinking between 2005 and 2012, the increases were larger for women than for men (except in Lafayette Parish), and not a single Louisiana parish is on the list for the fewest drinkers.

The study also measured heavy drinking. For women, that's consuming on average more than one alcoholic drink every day over the last month and for men, consuming on average two or more drinks.

All nine Acadiana parishes saw an increase in heavy drinking from 2005 to 2012. The largest increase for both genders combined was in St. Mary Parish with a 49 percent increase, including a 73 percent increase by women. By comparison, across the United States, heavy drinking rose 17 percent, including a 28 percent increase among women.

Evangeline and St. Landry parishes weren't far behind with an average 46 percent and 47 percent increase in heavy drinkers, respectively, when both genders were combined. For women, heavy drinking rose 69 percent in Evangeline Parish, 66 percent in Acadia Parish and 63.5 percent in St. Landry Parish from 2005 to 2012.

Heavy drinking is a concern because of long-term health problems it can cause, including cirrhosis of the liver and some cancers, the report's authors wrote.

Binge drinking is a concern because of its short-term health effects, including injuries from falls and traffic crashes. For the study, binge drinking for women was consuming four or more drinks on a single occasion and for men, five or more drinks on a single occasion in the past month.

Vermilion Parish reported the smallest percentage increase in binge drinking by men and women combined at 7.4 percent in the nine-parish Acadiana area, followed by Lafayette Parish with 9.5 percent combined.

But in 2012, Vermilion Parish had the highest percentage of men and women combined — 22.5 percent — identifying themselves in the survey as binge drinkers, including 30 percent of the men.

Three parishes among the nine were just about tied for the largest percentage increase in binge drinking from 2005-2012: St. Landry at 20.7 percent and Evangeline and St. Mary parishes, both with a 20.4 increase.

By the Numbers

Percentage of binge drinkers in 2012 (men and women combined):

Acadia: 18.9

Evangeline: 19.5

Iberia: 19.6

Jefferson Davis: 20.5

Lafayette: 21.5

St. Landry: 21.1

St. Martin: 21.9

St. Mary: 21.2

Vermilion: 22.5

— Source: USA Today