Drunkorexia On Rise in Women

Eating disorders increasingly blending with substance abuse, experts say
By Wesley Oliver,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 2, 2008 11:57 AM CST
Drunkorexia On Rise in Women
Dr. Douglas Bunnell, the past president of the National Eating Disorders Association, said the obsession with being skinny and the social acceptance of drinking and using drugs -- along with the sense, lately, that among celebrities, checking into rehab is almost a given, if not downright chic-- are...   (Index Stock)

Drunkorexia isn't an official medical term, reports the New York Times, but the disorder is on a growing list of afflictions that combine societal acceptance of substance abuse and pressure to be thin. Drunkorexics, who are typically college-age women, shun food to prevent weight gain and to offset the calories they consume in alcohol.

“There are women who are afraid to put a grape in their mouth but have no problem drinking a beer,” said one expert. Studies show that binge drinking and alcohol abuse are increasing among women, and many are simultaneously combating substance abuse. Researchers are now investigating if eating stimulates the same pleasure centers in the brain as drugs or alcohol. (More eating disorder stories.)

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