Pathological dieting and alcohol use in college women—a continuum of behaviors

Abstract

The relationship between dieting and bingeing severity and alcohol use was studied in a sample of women in their first year of college ( n=1384). The study was designed to replicate and extend earlier findings of a graded positive relationship between the dieting and bingeing severity and the frequency, intensity, and negative consequences of alcohol use in young women, while adjusting for known predictors of alcohol use. Prevalence of past month alcohol use, drinking enough to get high on half or more drinking occasions, and heavy drinking (≥five drinks in a row) in these women were positively associated with dieting and bingeing severity in a graded manner across the entire range of these behaviors. Dieting and bingeing severity was also more closely associated with the frequency and intensity of alcohol use than measures of depression, parents' drinking level, and early age of first drink. Finally, dieting and bingeing severity was positively associated with the prevalence of negative consequences of alcohol use, such as blackouts and unintended sexual activity. These results suggest that the dysfunctional eating behaviors often associated with dieting could also be associated with dysfunctional alcohol use.