The new trend coined “drunkorexia” has some college students skipping meals in order to feel the effects of alcohol faster. Jamila Huxtable argues that college students, women in particular, shouldn’t sacrifice their well-being for the exchange of a faster buzz.
College is the place where students are introduced to a whole new set of trends and experiences all at once. One trend in particular, has drawn the attention of some college students: “Drunkorexia.”
Drunkorexia, is the non-medical term that has been coined by many health professionals for the act of skipping meals in order to conserve calories during the day, so that when one goes out, they can binge drink and accumulate the calories they missed earlier in the day.
A study was done at the University of Missouri-Columbia where students completed a survey about alcohol consumption and results revealed that one in six students said that they have restricted food in order to consume alcohol within the last year. Many also said they skip meals so that they can buy more alcohol, and so that the alcohol can “hit” them faster.
This whole trend seems really immature and silly. Why is it so important to get so wasted? The majority of women who engage in these behaviors are underage and since they cannot legally buy alcohol, they make the most of the opportunity when they have the chance to consume it.
This disorder attracts women particularly because there is that continued pressure to stay skinny and still be a party animal, which is a bit contradicting.
It doesn’t make much sense to skip meals so that you can drink more later on. Drinking shouldn’t be that much of a priority that you have to compromise your body’s daily nutrition. Although drunkorexia does cause some “benefits,” such as becoming inebriated faster, the long-term health risks are much more severe.
When a woman skips a meal to binge drink, they’re more prone to either blackout or vomit from the lack of nutrients in their body. After they come back from a night of partying all that they really want to do is crash, but unless they’re about to start running in their sleep, the empty calories from the beers that they chugged a few hours ago will stay in their body and take a longer time to digest.
This makes it easier for fat to build up in the arteries and could cause weight gain. So in actuality, they’re not saving any calories, but rather making up for the calories that they would have already consumed.
In the end, these habits that seem so minuscule at the moment, could turn into long-term health effects, such as trouble concentrating, and can lead to more serious eating disorders as well as other addictive behaviors.
Drunkorexia is becoming more and more common today so the next time that you’re out and you see a girl completely “schwasted” don’t be surprised if the last time she ate that day was breakfast.
Temple prides itself on its academics and it prestige in sports. But we cannot deny that the party scene at Temple does not go unnoticed. Temple is a dry campus, but with so many bars on and in close proximity to Main Campus, I can see how it can become tempting.
Today there are a whole new set of behaviors being described as disorders like manorexia and diabulimia, but drunkorexia is by far the most common. Skipping meals is never the way to go about having fun.
Jamila Huxtable can be reached at jamila.nakia.huxtable@temple.edu.
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