Students cut meals, save calories for drinking
Rather than facing the consequences of binge drinking, college students are using ‘drunkorexia’ to prevent beer bellies and still party.
The behavior, which consists of students cutting meals to save their calories for drinking, is the subject of a recent study relating to weight and binge drinking issues.Sixteen percent of those surveyed reported restricting calories to save them for drinking, according to an Oct. 18 article published on Upi.com that cited the findings of researchers from the University of Missouri.
‘The issues surrounding ‘drunkorexia’ are serious and can cause other problems beyond alcohol,’ said Victoria Osborne, assistant professor of social work and public health at UM who conducted the study, in an email. ‘It puts you at-risk for self- and other-injury and puts you in danger of being a victim or perpetrator of sexual assault or physical assault as well as cognitive issues from both lack of nutrients and overuse of alcohol.’
Students at Syracuse University said they are aware of ‘drunkorexia’ and some have encountered it firsthand.
‘My friend won’t eat if she goes out to drink because she says she doesn’t want to waste the calories and because she’ll get drunk faster,’ said Jaime Baumann, a sophomore math education major.
Baumann said she has never done anything like it, but recognizes that it’s an issue on campus.
‘I think that students are more worried about their calorie intake and their appearance, and that’s why they do it,’ she said.
Through examining the relationship between alcohol misuses and disordered eating, the study found ‘drunkorexia’ affects three times as many women as it does men.
Rachel Winograd, a doctoral candidate at UM and co-investigator of the study, said ‘drunkorexia’ implies both eating and alcohol, but it exists on a larger continuum.
‘People do it for more than one reason, but the big problem that we’re seeing is that college students are restricting their calorie intake in order to drink,’ she said.
Cheyanne Murdock, an undeclared sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, said she often overhears conversations about ‘drunkorexia’ while walking through campus.
‘I’ve heard girls say that they’re not going to go to dinner because they’re going to drink instead,’ she said. ‘It seems like it would be better to eat more so you don’t get too drunk, but I don’t think they see it that way.’
Published on October 24, 2011 at 12:00 pm
