‘Drunkorexia’ Becoming Concern on Some College Campuses

Some college campuses are seeing an increase in ‘drunkorexia,’ the act of restricting calories by day so students can drink alcohol at night without gaining weight.

KIMT News 3 reports that this practice can be dangerous for heavy drinkers. Jay Pedelty, Prevention Specialist with Prairie Ridge Addictions in Mason City, IA, told the news program, “Two thirds of deaths associated with alcohol are from impairment problems. So this, starving myself so I’ll become profoundly and significantly intoxicated, carries a significant risk for death or other health problems.”

The report states that the majority of ‘drunkorexia’ sufferers are young college women. It cites a study by the Harvard School of Public Health that indicated that two out of five college students binge drink. A study in the Journal of Drug and Alcohol Education found that 14 percent of the almost 700 students surveyed said they skip meals before drinking alcohol to cut down on calories.