Located in the heart of the Rocky Mountains, this surprising Montana county has been dubbed “The Drunkest County in America.”
Gallatin County, Montana, has a whopping 26.8 percent of residents who binge drink, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The agency defines binge drinking to include binge drinking, binge drinking, underage drinking, and drinking during pregnancy.
According to CDC data collected by intoxistates.com26.8 percent of Gallatin County residents are heavy drinkers, compared to Outagamie County in Wisconsin, where 26.13 percent of people binge drink.
Montana County, population 127,880, beat out popular college towns and party spots to earn the title of “America’s Drunkest County.”
Gallatin County is located in a wide valley in the heart of the Rocky Mountains and is home to a wealth of outdoor activities, including downhill skiing, blue ribbon trout streams, and Yellowstone National Park.
Locals credit the county’s booming tourism for why it is the national leader in binge drinking.
“The look of the ski resort makes it kind of like a college town,” said Andy Fortier, shift leader at local bar Hungry Moose. Cowboy State Diary.
Gallatin County, Montana, has a whopping 26.8 percent of residents who drink excessively.
Montana County, population 127,880, beat out popular college towns and party spots to earn the title of “America’s Drunkest County.” Pictured: People drinking at Scissorbills Saloon
‘Everyone uses that as a reason to get drunk every day. Everyone comes here just to get away.
Gallatin County resident Thomas McGuane Jr., who distills his own spirits, told the local media outlet that cold winters could contribute to residents’ drinking.
“It’s always some kind of Christmas party here and then we have the added bad weather that makes the only attractive activity is walking around downtown and blowing off some steam,” McGuane said.
‘It’s a celebration of the lifestyle we have here. Everyone is in that celebratory mood all the time.
About 178,000 people die each year from excessive alcohol consumption in the United States, the CDC estimated.
For the first time in history, rates of binge drinking among women are catching up with those of men, and rates of alcohol-related deaths are rising faster among women than men.
While many women may pride themselves on being able to handle alcohol, more than ever drink until they get sick.
Rates of alcohol use disorder are typically much higher in men, according to Yale psychiatry professor Dr. Sherry McKee, but over the decades they have been converging “and those rates are getting very close to one to one.”
Gallatin County is located in a wide valley in the heart of the Rocky Mountains and is home to a wealth of outdoor activities.
Locals credit the county’s booming tourism for why it leads the country in binge drinking.
The increasing number of women who drink excessively is having devastating consequences and death rates for women due to alcohol are rising almost 30 percent faster than those for men.
Dr McKee told DailyMail.com: ‘Women are more vulnerable to the neurotoxic effects of alcohol, so (that means) more neurodegeneration.
“We believe that there is a general process of inflammation that is more likely to occur in women than in men as a result of alcohol consumption, and this is partly one of the reasons why women are more susceptible or have exacerbated risks for the health due to alcohol consumption.
Neurotoxic effects can cause a variety of symptoms, from a reduction in brain volume, brain shrinkage, brain cell death, nerve fiber breakdown, and inflammatory stress.
Alcohol activates the immune system in the brain and a specific type of receptor intended to detect harmful invaders such as bacteria and viruses and alert the body.
But chronic alcohol consumption can make this receptor more sensitive than normal and keep it on high alert, leading to an exaggerated immune response that can end up damaging the body and increasing inflammation.