Drunkorexia: How Alcohol Became a Weight-Loss Food
What’s the Latest Development?
Alcohol advertisements were once infamous for how they objectified the female body but today, marketing departments at beer and spirit producers have begun selling their products to women as weight-loss drinks. “First, the ‘fitness friendly’ campaigns—like an Amstel Light ad with an athletically sexy, sweaty, young blond female and the slogan, ‘Tell Them You’ve Hired A Personal Trainer From Holland.’ … The other category: diet alcohol ads, aimed primarily at young females. These promise all the upsides of drinking without any of the pesky weight gain.”
What’s the Big Idea?
Sociologists say the effects of these marketing campaigns across college campuses has been frightening, as more and more young adults skip meals to “save” calories for a night of drinking. “Dr. Mark Peluso, director of the Middlebury College health center, points out that drinking on an empty stomach leads to more rapid absorption of alcohol, and higher levels of impairment and intoxication. So every time people purposely do it, they incur increased risks of things like sexual assault and DUIs, and, in the long run, gastritis, ulcer, and malnutrition.”
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