Drunkorexia: Starving and Boozing

First there was diabulimia. Now there is drunkorexia--another new and buzzworthy term for some not-so-new behavior. According to this report on The Morning Show (featuring our friend Sondra Kronberg, an eating disorders specialist from the National Eating Disorders Association of Long Island), 30% of women ages 18-23 restrict food calories so they can drink more and not gain weight from their alcohol consumption.

All of the women interviewed for the piece (as well as the studio audience) fell into the "Well, duh. Of course I've done that before!" category, which makes us think that "drunkorexia" isn't always just a college phase that girls grow out of. Millions of women are willing to subject themselves to dangerous fad diets, plastic surgery, and speed-laced weight loss pills; we can't say we were surprised to learn that the health consequences of letting large amounts of alcohol absorb directly into the bloodstream seem to be of little concern when compared to the calorie-saving "benefits." As one aspiring model and self-identified drunkorexic put it, "You want to stay skinny but you want to go out and look good and have fun." And what about the known health risks? "You just try to block it out," she says. Actually, black out is probably more accurate.