Female uni students in battle with drink, food
SKIPPING meals has become the norm in an alarming new trend that’s found female university students increasingly missing regular eating in favour of binge drinking.
A study revealed one in three female university students were not eating to save calories, which would later be consumed drinking excessive amounts of alcohol.
Results from 479 undergraduate female university students aged between 18 and 24 were collected across the universities in South Australia in part one of the study and 334 in part two.
All students involved drank alcohol in the previous 90 days and the study groups did not include students with diagnosed eating disorders.
Author and clinical psychologist Alycia Powell-jones referred to the behaviour as ‘Drunkorexia’, and said it was mostly found among 18 to 24year-olds.
“The results were surprising, there was a really large percentage of people who were engaging in and endorsing this behaviour and it’s quite concerning about the health impacts,” Ms Powell-jones said.
In the two-part study, the University of South Australia researchers found women with insufficient self-control, emotional deprivation and social isolation were most likely to exhibit this behaviour.
The report also recorded almost double the number of participants engaging in “Drunkorexia” behaviours compared with the previous Australian study in 2017.
Ms Powell-jones said young adulthood was a dangerous time to be getting involved in any disordered eating patterns or problematic alcohol consumption.
Researchers are urging that more attention be dedicated to the issue, with 28 per cent of participants reportedly engaging in the behaviour to offset calories.
“Further research is urgently needed,” the report said.