Tag Archives: binge drinking

Saving Your Drinking for the Weekend Can Be a Risky Move

This entry was posted in alcohol rehab, Recovery Help and tagged , , on by .

Are you avoiding drinking during the week in favor of going out on the weekend?

You may be doing more harm to your health than you realize, a new study has found. New research has discovered that found that otherwise moderate drinkers were at higher risk for binge drinking and alcohol-related difficulties.

Survey Conducted with Participants Aged 30 and Up

The researchers conducted a survey with approximately 1,200 drinkers aged 30 and up. The participants completed surveys in 2004-2005 and were re-surveyed in 2015-2016.

The scientists separated the survey takers into two groups: moderate drinkers and heavy drinkers. Moderate drinking was defined as consuming one drink each day over a week.

Participants were asked how often they consumed five or more drinks in a short time (binge drinking) over the past 30 days. Moderate drinkers average one drink each day; however they were responsible for over three quarters (70%) of the binge drinking.

When the scientists surveyed the participants for the second time, they discovered “moderate” drinkers were responsible for the majority of (almost 80%) of alcohol-related issues, including increased tolerance, emotional and psychological concerns. These findings suggest to researchers that alcohol-related issues may be more likely due to “how much a person drinks instead of how often they consume alcohol.” The study also found the following results among moderate drinkers:

• Binge drinking boosted the risk of health issues due to alcohol consumption.
• At the nine-year mark, the likelihood of more than one health issue was over twice as high as that of study subjects who didn’t binge drink.

Public Health Campaign Needed for Moderate Drinkers
The study findings point to a need for a public health campaign targeted at moderate drinkers. There are possible long-term health effects of alcohol use even for people who don’t fall into the heavy drinker category, according to Professor Sarah Andrews, from Johns Hopkins University’s Department of Psychiatry.

The results of the study were published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine (June edition)

drunkorexia

Binge Drinking Increases Risk of Disordered Eating: Study

This entry was posted in addiction treatment, alcohol rehab, inpatient rehab and tagged , , , , on by .

Unfortunately, heavy alcohol consumption is common in many college settings. People who are indulging in more than a moderate amount of drinking (defined by the Centers for Disease Control as one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men) may be risking their physical and mental health, according to research conducted at the University of South Australia.

The scientists looked at the way 479 female Australian university students consumed alcohol. The study participants were between 18-24 years old. Researchers were investigating whether is any scientific basis for the belief that binge drinking can lead to Drunkorexia.

Drunkorexia: Side Effect of Binge Drinking

Drunkorexia is a type of behavior where the affected person resorts to unhealthy eating patterns to offset the negative consequences of excessive alcohol consumption. These consequences include gaining weight.

The results were surprising:

• The majority (82.7%) of female university students who participated in the survey had displayed drunkorexia-type behaviors within the past 90 days.
• More than one-quarter of the respondents (28%) were skipping meals regularly and on purpose.
• They were also using tactics such as purging or exercising after drinking and choosing low-calorie alcoholic beverages. These strategies were being used 25% of the time or more.

Alycia Powell-Jones, a clinical psychologist and lead UnisSA researcher, stated recently that this behavior has become widespread among Australian female university students. She explained that drunkorexia is very dangerous and can put the person who engages in this type of behavior at risk for several serious health consequences, including:

• Brain damage
• Cirrhosis of the liver
• Cognitive deficits
• Depression
• Heart damage
• Memory lapses

Ms. Powell-Jones points out that many people have overindulged in alcohol at some point during their lives. It becomes apparent by the next morning that it was not a good choice. When close to one-third of young, female university students are deliberately cutting back on their food intake to offset the number of calories due to alcohol, it becomes a matter of serious health concern.

Alcohol Use Increasing in the US

In the US, alcohol use increased from 65% to 73% in the adult population in the years 2001-2013. The rate was much higher among certain demographics (women, seniors, minorities, people with lower incomes and education levels).

Approximately 15 million people in the United States are living with Alcohol Use Disorder. Approximately 5.8% of the population or 14.4 million adults had the disorder in 2018.

Sources:

https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/faqs.htm

https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/overview-alcohol-consumption/alcohol-use-disorders

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-05-binge-drinkers-beware-drunkorexia.html