Drunkorexia’ among young people raises concerns in the UK
Drunkorexia’ among young people raises concerns in the UK
A new report has found that 43% of British men and 35% of women between the ages of 18-24 ditch meals in favour of binge drinking, a phenomenon known as “drunkorexia”.
Healthcare group Benenden’s National Health Report 2015 revealed that “drunkorexia” was gaining ground among young people in the UK and creating huge concerns among health experts.
Researchers call “Drunkorexia” a new phenomenon of limiting calorie intake from food to make room for alcoholic drinks.
According to the study, young British people prefer to eat less in order to “save” calories for alcohol consumption.
Two out of five British people (41%) between the ages of 18 and 24 said they eat healthily only to look good, but aren’t concerned about their overall health.
“Pressure to be slim, an awareness of exercising calorie control, and peer pressure to drink large amounts of alcohol are all factors in this phenomenon”, the report noted, adding that a growing number of men are following this trend.
Alcohol versus healthy diet
“Even with the spending of many millions of pounds by the NHS and public health organisations it seems that basic information about diet and wellbeing is not getting through to the public, and despite drinking less, many young people are seemingly favouring alcohol consumption over a healthy, balanced diet,” said Dr. John Giles, medical director at Benenden.
A survey recently conducted by the Health and Social Care Information Center in the UK found that young people in Britain drink markedly less alcohol than in previous years, but still more than the European average.
According to the survey, the proportion of young teenagers who have ever had an alcoholic drink has been in steady decline since 2003.
The survey found that 38% of 11 to 15-year-olds in England consumed alcohol in 2014, down from 61% in 2003. There was a similar drop among Scottish teenagers.
Not aware of balanced diet
Participants in the survey were also asked general questions about healthy lifestyles.
“By and large, the findings highlight that the public is in denial about how much they think they know about healthy eating, they claim to be near-experts, but when drilling down to real-life examples, the vast majority of respondents failed to choose the right answer to simple diet-related questions, or the healthier option when offered the choice between everyday food and drinks,” the report found.
The report noted that although half of the UK population takes into account back-of-pack health labelling on food and drinks, most people know little about nutrition.
“When tested about what the recommended daily limits or reference intakes (RIs) actually are, these same people could not reliably say what the daily limits are for simple food groups such as fat, sugar, and salt,” the report reads.
Giles said it is unclear whether the trend stems from poor education or lack of interest.
“But I think we need to rethink how we try and engage with individuals and try and encourage them to assume greater personal responsibility and accountability for their health,” he said.
Source: http://www.euractiv.com/section/health-consumers/news/report-drunkorexia-among-young-people-raises-concerns-in-the-uk/
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