Drunkorexic women starve themselves for fear of weight gain

New York, Mar 19 (UNI) The hard-drinking culture is turning women 'drunkorexic' as many of them increasingly skip meals to enjoy drinking without worrying about extra calories, experts have warned.

The phenomenon first spotted in the bars of US can now be viewed worldwide and affects mostly weight-conscious women who offset the calories from heavy drinking by skipping meals.

According to experts, the ''drunkorexic'' demographic comprises mainly young women, many of whom experience a combination of social pressures. ''There is huge pressure to drink as well as look thin and many young women find the only way they can cope with both is to drink rather than eat, to substitute alcohol for food,'' dietitian Louise Noble said.

Images of stick-thin celebrities with cocktail in hand further played a crucial role in pressurising young women who look up to many of these celebrities, and try to emulate their lifestyles.

Popular US websites, including the 5 Resolutions fashion blog, Salon.com, and The Huffington Post news site, are awash with women confessing their own methods of calorie off-setting.

''Binge drinking is almost cool and hip, and losing weight and being thin is a cultural imperative for women. Mixing both is not surprising,'' The New York Times quoted Douglas Bennell of the Renfrew Centre for eating disorders as saying.

A previous study had stated that up to a third of bulimics struggle with alcohol or drug abuse.

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