The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released data Tuesday indicating one in four young adults ages 18-24 and high school students engaged in binge drinking in the past month.

The majority (80%) of binge drinkers are not alcoholics for this reason it is not recognized as a problem, said Thomas Frieden, CDC director at a news teleconference Tuesday.

The CDC defines binge drinking as four or more drinks for women and five or more drinks for men in a couple of hours.

The average binge drinker however in reality is able to down as many as eight drinks in just two hours.

"Binge drinking increases many health risks, including fatal car crashes, contracting a sexually transmitted disease, dating violence, and drug overdoses," said Frieden in a statement.

"Excessive alcohol use remains the third leading preventable cause of death in the U.S. and leads to a wide range of health and social problems,” he added.

Binge drinking and excessive drinking claims the lives of more than 79,000 people in the United States each year.

According to World Health Organization estimates that risks linked to alcohol causes 2.5 million deaths a year.