A combination of two bad health habits prominent among college students could have serious long-term health effects.

Drunkorexia, a non-medical term, is defined as a combination of an eating disorder with heavy alcohol consumption, according to an article from Science Daily titled, “Drunkorexia: A Recipe for Disaster.”

The article said the term has several different meanings and motivations, including preventing weight-gain, decreasing the amount of time it takes to become intoxicated, or to save money.

Student Wellness Center coordinator Lynn Gill said there could be long-term health effects from high-risk alcohol consumption. Long-term effects could include cirrhosis, heart disease, brain changes and nerve damage.

The information comes from a study at the University of Missouri-Columbia, where researchers conducted a survey and found 16 percent of the respondents reported restricting their calorie intake to save room for alcohol.

Of the 16 percent, women reported participating in these behaviors three times as much as men.

“Many students are weight conscious, and they restrict food so as to “save” calories for drinking,” Gill said.

According to the National Association for Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, 91 percent of women surveyed on a college campus had attempted to control their weight through dieting. Of them, 22 percent dieted often or always.

The ANAD also said 95 percent of those who have eating disorders are between the ages of 12 and 25. A survey of 185 female students showed 58 percent felt pressure to be a certain weight.

Also, the ANAD statistics say over one half of teenage girls and nearly one third of teenage boys use unhealthy weight control behaviors such as skipping meals, fasting, smoking cigarettes, vomiting and taking laxatives.

Gill said this behavior is not healthy in short or long term cases.

“Alcohol, unlike food, does not contain the essential nutrients that the body needs,” Gill said. “Restrictive eating can lead to potential long term mental and physical issues such as infertility, bone loss, depression, and cognitive challenges.”

Melinda Yeomans, the coordinator of the Women’s Resource Center, said her department wants to promote healthy behaviors on campus.

“Our Women’s Resource Center Program, in particular, is collaborating daily across campus to support high levels of health and wellness for all of our SIU students, especially our SIU women.”

According a report by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, more than 80 percent of college students between the ages of 18 and 24 drink alcohol. Almost 50 percent reported binge drinking in the two weeks prior.

The report defines binge drinking as a pattern of drinking that brings one’s blood alcohol concentration levels to .08. According to the report, this typically happens after four drinks for women and five drinks for men, in about two hours.

In the case of “drunkorexia”, the danger of binge drinking is increased by the lack of food in the body beforehand.

“Not consuming food before drinking allows the alcohol to get into your bloodstream faster and in greater concentration, resulting in a state of inebriation,” Gill said. “This will cause a person to exceed the .08 blood alcohol content.”

Because of this inebriated state, high-risk behaviors such as drunk driving, impaired judgment and increased aggression could occur, she said.

According to the report, there are an estimated 1,825 deaths among college students each year from alcohol-related unintentional injuries, including motor vehicle crashes.

Another reason “drunkorexia” is a problem among young people on college campuses is the desire to save money.

“Money is tight during the college years, and men more often than women, will spend money on alcohol rather than on food,” Gill said.

According to the NIAAA, 19 percent of college students between 18 and 24 years of age met the criteria for alcohol abuse or dependence, but only five percent of the students sought treatment.

Gill said there is the Eating Disorder Outpatient Program, to help students with food issues, as well as group or individual services for students who struggle with substance abuse and want to make a change.