
Those engaging in reduced eating and increased drinking may also be at risk for binge drinking, which is usually classified as four or more drinks in two hours for women or five or more drinks in two hours for men. The result is a high risk for dehydration, vitamin depletion and other physical and mental health issues. Here’s why drunkorexia is so dangerous: if an individual is not getting enough calories from food, but they are getting calories from alcohol, they are getting a lot of empty calories.

Drinking on an empty stomach not only raises your blood alcohol content at a faster rate but also can lead to dangerous alcohol-associated behaviors such as driving under the influence, violent assaults and uninhibited behaviors. Studies have shown that approximately 30 percent of women in their early twenties are skipping meals so they can drink more. A study showed that eight out of 10 college students, many of whom were males, recently engaged in at least one behavior associated with drunkorexia.Īnd it’s not just the college kids. Eating less and drinking more is becoming a popular trend among young adults who enjoy socializing but who want to maintain a super thin figure.

Drunkorexia: A Worrisome Trendĭrunkorexia is a major concern for young adults. While the term is not clinically appropriate, people use this term to refer to behaviors including skipping meals, excessively exercising and purging food as a way to negate the calories consumed from drinking alcohol.Īlthough the DSM V does not recognize drunkorexia as a formal eating disorder nor an alcohol abuse disorder, drunkorexia is widely recognized by the mental healthcare and eating disorder community as hazardous behavior. Drunkorexia is a term characterizing the replacement of meals with alcohol. When an alcohol use disorder is combined with disordered eating behaviors, it can be a recipe for disaster.
