Survey Finds That Many College Women Restrict Food Intake to Save Calories for Alcohol

A new study by Victoria Osborne, an assistant professor of social work and public health at the University of Missouri, finds that a significant segment of women in college suffer from what she calls “Drunkorexia.”

Her research found that 16 percent of college students surveyed reported that they restricted their intake of food so they could save calories for drinking alcohol. About three times as many women as men reported engaging in reduced food consumption in favor of alcohol.

Osborne warns that inadequate nutrition combined with binge drinking can have a major negative impact on a student’s cognitive ability to  handle the rigors of a college curriculum. She also states that drunkorexia can lead to violence, risky sexual behavior, and chronic diseases later in life.

Dr. Osborne presented her research at a convention of the American Psychopathological Association. She holds bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. degrees from Washington University.