News / Health & Wellness
“Drunkorexia” a Growing Problem On College Campuses
Coeds are going to dangerous – possibly deadly -- lengths to cut calories and still party.
Dieting and calorie cutting is at an all-time high among college girls, but now there’s a new wrinkle: female coeds are restricting calories during the day so they can drink their calories at night. The result is something called “drunkorexia.” To consequence-challenged college students, it seems smart. They save money by eating less and getting drunk faster and they keep their weight down all at the same time. It’s a win all the way around – until you look at the long-term health problems.
A study out of the University of Missouri found that as many as one in five students save their calories for alcohol. Students in the study said their motivations to be drunkorexic included getting drunk faster, spending money on alcohol that might otherwise be spent on food and keeping their weight down.
The research suggests the majority of drunkorexics are women — they were three times more likely to have the disorder than men.
Researchers tie it to the fact that women are constantly bombarded with media images of a physical standard that is unachievable for many. They learn at an early age that they can only consume so many calories without putting on weight, so many college students are choosing to limit those calories to alcohol.
Drunkorexics are at greater risk of becoming sexual assault victims and suffering from substance abuse and more severe eating disorders later in life, Taylor said. What these students may not be aware of is that drunkorexia could affect their ability to learn and to make decisions, and ultimately damage their internal organs, the Missouri study suggests. There are no statistics on how many develop a drinking problem or seek alcohol rehab as a result of drunkorexia.
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