Pregorexia, the Pregnant Woman’s Eating Disorder

Perhaps you have heard of it. It’s the new “buzz word” surrounding eating disorders. Reports are that it has been inspired by images of thin, yet pregnant, celebrities along with famous figures who lose their baby weight within a matter of a few weeks (Samantha Harris, anyone?).

Pregorexia is actually not new. And it’s not really a medical term, but more of a pop-psychology look at eating disorders.  An anorexic woman may still be anorexic, even when pregnant; a woman with bulimia may continue to have symptoms while she is expecting.

Although “pregorexia” is used by the entertainment world to catagorize women who have a “baby bump” yet watch their weight to an extreme degree, there is nothing remotely entertaining about starving oneself, over-exercising or purging while pregnant. As a matter of fact, an eating disorder like this can put both the mother and baby at risk. Hypertension, anxiety, depression, insomnia, vaginal bleeding, chronic pain, hospitalization and intraveneous feeding are partial risks for the expectant mom with an eating disorder, and here is a sobering look at what could result for her child: Read more

Drunkorexia

On a campus composed of students obsessed with perfection, where binge drinking is an accepted form of release, an unpleasant reality exists: Many students face eating disorders and alcohol abuse – and even worse are those who have developed a combination of the two.

‘Drunkorexia‘ is a new slang term used to describe the behavior of women who skip meals in order to save calories for alcoholic beverages, as well as women who abuse the overconsumption of alcohol to purge food.

At a university ranked among the nation’s top private schools for academic achievement and for its party reputation, at what point are women crossing the line in their hopes to achieve academic and social perfection?

‘Effortless perfection’ is an expression developed by an undergraduate student at Duke University, used to describe the university’s social climate. Read more