We all know college isn’t the place to go to work on your health. Between a poor diet, lack of time to
exercise, heavy alcohol use and crazy high stress levels, weight gain seems almost inevitable and adds another layer of stress to college life. But some students take their concern about body image and gaining the “freshmen 15” to the next level.
Students might eat too few calories during the day or even fast prior to going out with the hope of not gaining weight. Little do these students know that their behavior could be classified as drunkorexia, which MedicineNet defines as “a term coined to refer to condition of binge drinking combined with the typical
self-imposed starvation seen with anorexia nervosa. It has also been used to refer to
individuals who use purging (as seen with bulimia nervosa) to try to reduce caloric intake
to offset the calories consumed in alcohol.” Although this is not an officially recognized
diagnostic term it is still a growing and dangerous trend on college campuses.
One SU junior says, “Well, if I eat a lot of calories during the day
and then drink on top of it, I’ll consume too many calories and gain weight.”
Slashing calories from food to splurge on drinks may seem like a good idea, but skipping meals prior to a night raging has dangerous health effects. According to the Indiana News Room at Indiana University,
students not eating prior to a night out can cause dehydration, which is further intensified
by the diuretic properties of alcohol. Drinking on an empty stomach also allows alcohol
to enter the bloodstream much faster than it would if it were arriving on top of a well-balanced meal.
So the next time you want to skip dinner in favor of 4 electric gatorades at Harry’s,
remember alcohol is never an appropriate substitute for food and drinking on an empty
stomach is never worth the risk.