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Dangers of alcohol essay
Dangers of drinking alcohol essay
Dangers of alcohol
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Introduction
According to the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA, 2013), four out of five college students drink alcohol. Alcohol consumption is not only the cause of 1,800 deaths, 599,000 injuries, 696,000 physical assaults, and 97,000 sexual assaults of 18-24 year olds but it can also be the link to disordered eating habits such as overeating, purging, or not eating at all (Giles, Champion, Sutfin, McCoy & Wagoner, 2009; NIAAA, 2013). Nearly 80% of college students report drinking alcohol and half have claimed binge drinking in the past two weeks (NIAAA, 2013). Binge drinking can give drinkers an increased chance of becoming vulnerable to 54 different types of injuries and diseases. It is possible for students who drink to eventually develop an alcohol-related health problem that can affect the liver, heart, and stomach (Center for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2012).
According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD) 24 million people of all ages and genders suffer from an eating disorder. Around 20% of college students have suffered from an eating disorder and 11% are currently suffering from one (ANAD, 2013). Alcohol may show an association with disordered eating habits in college students. A study reported around half of college freshmen eat more food and make unhealthy food choices following a night of drinking (Lloyd-Richardson, Lucero, DiBello, Jacobson & Wing, 2008).A different study that was about weight conscious drinkers showed students who skip meals to save calories or exercise excessively are doing so to prepare for a night of drinking or drink enough alcohol to purge already consumed food (Barry & Piazza-Gardner, 2012). There is a higher incide...
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...orie restriction on drinking days: An examination of drinking consequences among college students. Journal of American College Health, 57(6), 603-609.
Kelly-Weeder, S. (2009). Binge drinking and disordered eating in college students. American Academy of Nurse Practioners, 23, 33-41.
Lloyd-Richardson, E. E., Lucero, M. L., DiBello, J. R., Jacobson, A. E., & Wing, R. R. (2008). The relationship between alcohol use, eating habits and weight change in college freshmen. Eating Behaviors, 9(4), 504-508.doi: 10.1016/j.eatbeh.2008.06.005
National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders. (2013). About Eating Disorders. Retrieved from http://www.anad.org/get-information/about-eating-disorders
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. (2013). College Drinking. Retrieved from http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/CollegeFactSheet/CollegeFactSheet.pdf
Scrivo, K. (1998, March 20). Drinking on campus. CQ Researcher, 8, 241-264. Retrieved from http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/
Getting Serious About Eradicating Binge Drinking is an informative article by Henry Wechsler. Wechsler has worked with the College Alcohol study since its creation in 1992, and he also lectures at the School of Public Health at Harvard. In his article, Weschler discusses the prominent trend of binge drinking on college campuses and how to solve the widespread problem. Binge drinking is a term used to describe the act drinking alcoholic beverages with the intention of becoming intoxicated over a short period of time.
Racette, S.B., Deusinger, S.S., Strube, M.J., Highstein, G.R., & Deusinger, R.H. (2005). Weight changes, exercise, and dietary patterns during freshman and sophomore years of college. Journal of American College Health, 53(8), 245-251.
Every year thousands of students are recruited to be student athletes at colleges and every year approximately 8 million individuals suffer from eating disorders. According to Psychology Applied to Modern Life, eating disorders are defined as “severe disturbances in eating behavior characterized by preoccupation with weight and unhealthy efforts to control weight (Weiten, Dunn, Hammer, 2011, p. 470).” Eating disorders can include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder. With risk factors such as low self esteem, pressure from family, friends and coaches and access to unlimited to food it is no wonder that collegiate athletes have higher rates of eating disorders than regular college students. Living in a dorm full of mostly athletes it has become extremely apparent to me that these athletes struggle with immense of pressure and one way of getting around this pressure is bulimia. Certain sports put more pressure on athletes to be a certain size and perform at a certain level than others.
Experts who study the concept of the “Freshman 15” are deeply divided in their findings. Some downplay the significance of the problem of freshman weight gain, basing their findings only on the average weight gain among college students. In a study done by the Journal of American College Health, found that of the 59 percent of students who gained weight the average increase was only 4.6 pounds. They concluded their study by stating that they believed the Freshman 15 is a myth, based upon that premise (Graham, and Jones). The truth is that fifty-nine percent of the students studied did gain weight, and not all students are going to gain exactly fifteen pounds. Other experts do however believe that weight gain among college freshman is a very serious problem. Registered dietitian Ann Selkowitz Litt recently authored, “The College Students Guide to Eating Well on Campus,” which is designed to help college students make the right eating choices. On an online chat with several college students on USA Today’s website she stated that “College students now are gaining the "freshman 20" or "freshman 25.” She blames the growing problem on erratic eating habits, the drinking large quantities of alcoh...
Although high-risk drinkers are a minority in all ethnic groups, their behavior is far from a harmless “rite of passage.” In fact, drinking has pervasive consequences that compel our attention. The most serious consequence of high-risk college drinking is death. The U.S. Department of Education has evidence that at least 84 college students have died since 1996 because of alcohol poisoning or related injury—and they believe the actual total is higher because of incomplete reporting. When alcohol-related traffic crashes and off-campus injuries are taken into consideration, it is estimated that over 1,400 college students die each year from alcohol-related unintentional injuries. Additionally, over 500,000 full-time students sustain nonfatal unintentional injuries, and 600,000 are hit or assaulted by another student who has been drinking. Administrators are well aware of the burden alcohol presents to the campus environment. In addition, the 1997, 1999, and 2001 Harvard surveys found that the majority of students living in dorms and Greek residences, who do not drink excessively, still experience day-to-day problems as a result of other students’ misuse of alcohol. The prevalence of these “secondhand effects” varies across ...
Lily, Henrietta M. and Harmon, Daniel E. Alcohol Abuse and Binge Drinking. New York: the Rosen Publishing Group Inc., 2012. Print.
Weshler, Henry, and Wuethrich, Bernice. Dying to Drink: Confronting Binge Drinking on college campuses. Chicago: Rodale Inc., 2002. Print.
“About 1,825 college students in the United States alone die from alcohol-related unintentional injuries and 1.2 and 1.5 percent admit that they have tried to attempt suicide due to drinking”(Binge Drinking in College). The factors of binge drinking eventually add up and the misconception of the brain can prompt fatalities. “In 2014, Tucker Arnold, who attended Texas Tech lost his life in an automobile accident with an extreme amount of alcohol in his system” (Recent Alcohol-Related Student Deaths). Another report was released a week after Arnold’s death, “Dalton Debrick, only 18 at the time, died after becoming unresponsive due to alcohol intoxication” (Recent Alcohol-Related Student Deaths). These are only a few examples of how lethal being caught up in the partying scene can actually
O’Dwyer, Michael P. Student Eating Disorders : Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia. Washington, D.C.: National Education Association, 2005.
ANAD. “Eating Disorders Statistics”. National Association of Anorexia Nervosa & Associated Disorders, Inc., 2013.Web. 18 Nov 2013.
One of the biggest problems with educational institutions in the United States is alcohol abuse among college students. College students across the United States including Georgia Southern University end up missing class, having unprotected sex, damaging property, and getting injured as a result of abusing alcohol. Also the health risks involved with binge or excessive drinking is very prevalent and risky for any college student who chooses to abuse alcohol. Besides alcohol poisoning, there are many cancers and diseases associated with alcohol abuse that ultimately lead to death. Liver cancer, breast cancer, and skin cancer can all be associated with alcohol abuse (Drinking: A Students Guide, 2001). Also heart and liver disease can be associated with alcohol abuse (Drinking: A Students Guide, 2001). Ultimately the over all wellness among Colleges and Universities in the United States drops dramatically when alcohol is abused. The abuse of alcohol among college students has a direct co...
Alcohol is commonly used by Americans across the United States. (Maurel, Boisseau, Benhamou, Jaffré, 2012). Some of the highest rates of alcohol consumption occur in the college student population, with studies showing that college athletes having a higher drinking rate than there non-athlete peers. Not only do they have a higher frequency of alcohol consumption, but they also have a higher tendency to participate in binge drinking, which is defined as drinking five or more drinks in a row for men and four drinks in a row for women (Wechsler, Davenport, Dowdall, Grossman, Zanakos, 1997).
Most people do not realize that alcohol is a drug that claims the lives of youth in college campuses across the world. In my case, it took the encounter with the ORL staff at UCLA for me to come to understanding that I am putting myself and those around me in danger through my risky drinking habits. With hours of self-reflection and the help of a cosmopolitan article called The Deadly Drinking Mistakes Smart Girls Make, I have found that there are several risks associated with alcohol that can put me at a quarrel with death. Even so, drinking does not always need to be deadly, and by keeping in mind the well-being of my fellow bruins and the skills mentioned in the article, I can find a balance between drinking for fun and drinking till death.
White, A., & Hingson, R. (2013). Excessive Alcohol Consumption and Related Consequences Among College Students. Alcohol Research: Current Reviews,35(2), 201-218.