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Drunkorexia: an emerging trend in young adults

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Eating and Weight Disorders - Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objective

Several studies demonstrated an association between alcohol consumption and unhealthy food habits. Particularly, in young adults it has been observed the tendency to use extreme forms of weight control as a way to compensate planned binge drinking.

Method

A questionnaire was administered to a sample of 4275 healthy subjects (43.9% males; 56.1% females), aged between 18 and 26 (mean age 22.04). The survey investigated socio-economic characteristics, drinking habits with a specific focus on binge consumption, abnormal eating behaviours and psychoactive substance use.

Results

34.1% of the overall sample reported to limit their calorie intake before drinking, with no significant gender difference. A significant correlation was found between drunkorexic attitudes and, respectively, binge drinking behaviours (p < .01), use of cocaine (p < .01), and use of Novel Psychoactive Substances (p < .01).

Discussion

Our data identified drunkorexia as a common behaviour among Italian young adults. Raising awareness on drunkorexia may help health care providers to timely address and approach its possible short- and long-term consequences.

Level of evidence

Level V (descriptive study).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, “G. d’Annunzio” University, Via dei Vestini 33, 66100, Chieti, Italy

    Matteo Lupi, Giovanni Martinotti & Massimo Di Giannantonio

  2. Department of Pharmacy, Pharmacology, Clinical Science, University of Hertfordshire, Herts, UK

    Giovanni Martinotti

Authors
  1. Matteo Lupi
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  2. Giovanni Martinotti
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  3. Massimo Di Giannantonio
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Matteo Lupi.

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Conflict of interest

This manuscript was entirely funded by the authors, and no pharmaceutical companies were informed of or were involved in the review. All authors contributed to this review with equal efforts. The authors have no potential conflict of interest directly relevant to the contents of the manuscript.

Ethical standards

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Lupi, M., Martinotti, G. & Di Giannantonio, M. Drunkorexia: an emerging trend in young adults. Eat Weight Disord 22, 619–622 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-017-0429-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-017-0429-2

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