It's not just college students who are increasing their alcohol intake -binge drinkers in the 65 and older set are imbibing heavily an average five or six times a month.

One in six adults in the U.S. reports binge drinking - defined as more than four drinks in a sitting for women or five drinks for men - an average four times a month. The grownups said they drink an average eight alcohol beverages per occasion, according to a report released today by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

People in households with incomes of $75,000 or more are most likely to binge drink. But those who make less than $25,000 drink more when they do go on a binge - eight or nine drinks on average.

Drinking heavily impairs judgment, which can lead to unsafe behaviors. Binge drinkers raise their risk of injuries and accidents as well as developing some cancers, liver disease and heart conditions.

About 80,000 deaths in the U.S. each year are attributed to alcohol abuse. 

The Midwest is considered a hotbed for binge drinking - both in the population rate of excessive consumption and in the amount of alcohol people consume on each occasion.

The data was collected from 458,000 adults who participated in the 2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, including about 36,000 cell phone interviews.

The true number of binge drinkers is probably much higher, health officials said. They estimated that their methods measured less than one-third of Americans' actual drinking behaviors when compared to alcohol units sold.