ADOLESCENCE AND DRUNKOREXIA

BY ROSANNA MAZZITELLI

The combination of teenagers and alcohol is not new to anyone. The use of alcoholic substances in this phase of life is in fact a typical behavior and often represents a transgressive action that the children need to underline their status as autonomous and affirmative subjects in the group. This in itself does not have a salutary effect especially from a fiscal point of view for an evolving and developing body such as that of an adolescent, but the situation is further complicated when the use of alcohol is associated with a eating disorder. It is in this case that we can speak of DRUNKOREXiA.

Drunkorexia, also known as drunkorexia, drankorexia or happy hour anorexia, started as a fad by American teenagers and has spread very quickly so that at the moment it is one of the most common eating disorders in the Western world and Italy does not exception. According to data from the Ministry of Health, drunkorexics in Italy (of various ages) are already more than 300,000. The boys who suffer from it are mainly between 14 and 17 years old, 8 out of 10 are females and unfortunately their number is constantly and rapidly increasing.

It must be emphasized that the term drunkorexia is a media-type invention, i.e. it was coined by the New York Times media in 2008 so it is not an official medical-diagnostic category, in fact it does not indicate a full-blown food pathology like anorexia and bulimia, but the name was coined to define a pathological behavioral tendency by now so widespread as to constitute a recognized social phenomenon of relevance to the health of the population.

The main characteristics of this phenomenon are: 1. avoiding meals in order to “avoid” calories or compensate for the increased calorie intake from the consumption of alcoholic beverages; 2. Excessive exercise to compensate for calories consumed with alcohol; and 3. Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol in order to avoid nausea and vomiting (Chambers 2008). Those who suffer from this disorder are convinced that they can replace the calories necessary for nutrition and deriving from food, with those coming from alcohol, with the consequence of not gaining weight.

Of course this is a mistaken belief since alcohol does not contain the food principles necessary for healthy functioning of the organism and is very toxic to the gastrointestinal organs, tissues and mucous membranes. Drunkorexia, which is a mixture of alcoholism and anorexia (drunk and anorexia), has gained a lot of ground among young people most likely because it combines well with the night high habits of guys and allows you to be more loose and uninhibited. , thus limiting the anxiety derived from the relationship with peers.

This behavior has the double advantage for the boys of reducing calories and at the same time intensifying the effect of alcohol which in this way is taken on an empty stomach and therefore absorbed more quickly by the body.

This behavior, as mentioned, represents a serious risk to the health of young people, as the digestive system of a fourteen year old, for example, is not yet able to break down alcohol (since the development of the system has not yet been completed enzymatic) and consequently not taking food and exceeding with the introduction of alcohol into the body can lead to serious consequences on the body (among others .... ulcers, digestive bleeding, cardiac alterations, cirrhosis, up to cancer and ethyl coma) and also have serious repercussions on the brain and cognitive functions of a young individual.

Furthermore, girls are more at risk because the enzyme that metabolizes alcohol is more concentrated in men and therefore, for the same amount of alcohol in the body, for women this substance becomes more toxic. Added to this are the consequences of the aspects related to the anorexic part of the symptom and therefore the risk of osteoporosis, amenorrhea and heart disease.

Of course, not all kids who drink alcohol suffer from this disorder. It is possible to suffer from drukorexia when at the base of this behavior there are important experiences of suffering that find relief and shelter in the development of symptoms such as those connected to an eating disorder.

To counter this phenomenon, it is very important that adults listen to children and pay attention to the manifestations of malaise that they can bring out in different ways. Among the most useful and necessary tools we find prevention that can be done both at school, in the family or in other places of reference for children. It is important to educate minors both regarding the physical and psychological dangers associated with the early use of alcohol but also to help them accept themselves and others, favoring the expression of the emotions and the content of suffering they may experience. .

Making children understand that they can be themselves, beyond the judgment of others is one of the greatest lessons that can be learned. In any case, when the problem of drunkorexia is structured it is very important to contact a professional who can help the minor to deal with this problem.

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