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Featured Article: Effects of Drug and Alcohol Use on Your Weight

Discussion in 'General Substance Abuse Discussion' started by Joseph, Feb 26, 2015.

  1. Joseph

    Joseph DrugAbuse.com Community Organizer Community Listener

    Did you know that drug and alcohol abuse can significantly impact your weight?

    According to the American Psychiatric Association, substance abuse is the excessive use of substances, including alcohol and drugs, that cause an individual to suffer from clinical impairments as well as the dramatic loss of academic, professional, and social skills.

    Substance abuse also dramatically alters the diet and in most cases, it leads to irregular eating patterns and poor nutrition. As a result, previously healthy adolescents and adults may begin to experience significant health problems shortly after the substance abuse begins.

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    Last edited: Feb 26, 2015
  2. serenity

    serenity Community Champion

    That makes sense, since I have never seen a fat drug addict. Most of them are thin or even stick-thin and some even have bloodshot eyes. And meth addicts really have bad skin and teeth. They really take a toll on one's health and appearance. So just say no to drugs and alcohol! Nothing good can be gained from it.
  3. xTinx

    xTinx Community Champion

    Between drugs and alcohol, drugs are more capable of affecting your weight drastically. I've seen a number of alcoholics who are obese at the same time. They even have huge bellies. But most drug addicts I saw through the media and in real life have one thing in common: they're as thin as sticks. Regardless of the physical results, both substances should be shunned completely.
    Lostboy8731 likes this.
  4. missbishi

    missbishi Community Champion

    I was a beanpole to begin with so you can imagine how terrible sustained cocaine use made me look. Ugh, I look at photos from the old days and it's as clear as day that I was a user. The coke killed my appetite and it wasn't unusual for me to go all weekend on just two slices of toast. I'm pretty sure that this is the reason it's so popular amongst young women right now.

    However, there's no glamor in coke use at all. It's been eight years on and I have never managed to regain much of the weight. My scrawniness is the one thing that never lets me forget about my past.
  5. amethyst

    amethyst Community Champion

    During my drinking days, I ate a lot of pre-cooked foods that you only have to warm up in the oven for 20 minutes. Mind you, I never used a microwave in my life. When my drinking was at its worst, I was constantly gagging on solids, so I had to resort to eating soups. I've always been thin, but the alcohol gave me some extra weight that looked like a sponge around my kidneys. When I stopped drinking, I got very ill and lost a lot of weight, including that alcohol sponge. My body went through a complete change within 6 months.
  6. Charli

    Charli Community Champion

    Agreed. Not only when they are on the substance but also when they get off it too. We have some local celebrities here who once were addicted to hardcore drugs like crack and when they eventually gave it up they got really fat. I'm sure they prefer that over being addicted though.
  7. TommyVercetti

    TommyVercetti Community Champion

    This is certainly not news to most users. I can attest to this myself as far as abusing alcohol goes. Nobody really ever knows how much calories a bottle of rum or scotch has because there is no nutritional label on the bottles. This is because alcoholic beverages are not subject to the FDA but rather to another bureau. I forget the name.

    Anyway, alcohol has a lot of calories, and coupled with the greasy, fatty food you normally eat with them while on a binge, it can wreak havoc with your health, starting with the size of your gut.
  8. stariie

    stariie Community Champion

    Makes total sense because when one is drinking and drugging, they aren't thinking about food and nutrition, they are thinking about their next drink or their next high, or their current drink and their current high. Nothing gets the full attention of an addict except their drug of choice, that's why the disease is so dangerous. All other things fall by the wayside; health, self-care, relationships, quality of life, all take a back seat.
  9. ryan0039

    ryan0039 Active Contributor

    I agree with some of the comments I'm seeing--especially about some drugs killing your appetite. I knew someone who tended to drink and their appetite was pretty much nothing. She lost so much weight that it was hard to look at her, because I knew her very well and it was super hard to see her like that for me. If you're eating a lot and drinking you can gain a lot of weight, though, I've seen that with some friends before, too. Most drug addicts I do see tend to be very thin.
  10. karmaskeeper

    karmaskeeper Community Champion

    I use to drink more than I ate. I certainly see how it could effect diet, and weight. I would never eat while I drank I just couldn't mix the two. It would kill my buzz and make me sleepy. When I was finish drinking usually I was drunk, and was starving by this point. I would make a huge mess, and gobble food down like a pig before I past out.
  11. FuZyOn

    FuZyOn Community Champion

    When I used drugs I got really skinny after some time. Those substances toy with your mind and you really forget to eat or do other vital things sometimes
    I've also discovered that my reflexes weren't as good as they used to be and my brain wasn't able to think as fast as it did in the past.
    myzsophistication likes this.
  12. ThatKidWithTheFace

    ThatKidWithTheFace Active Contributor

    I'm gonna have to agree with everyone here about the weight loss. You just forget to eat. It quits being important.
  13. wahmed

    wahmed Active Contributor

    Of course they will. Alcohol has so many extra calories and drugs inhance your metabolism taking away your nutrition causing you to waste away. Also if you spend your money on drugs you wontvhave much left for food.
  14. 6up

    6up Community Champion

    It is difficult to eat when you have a hangover. Most prefer lime juice instead of eating energy giving foods. One can completely loss appetite and drinking again so that they can eat. At most instances you find that they again get drank and end up sleeping hungry. When one is drank they can never maintain a balanced diet so they end up consuming the same food now and again. Others end up using all the money they had for food. At the end you find that they grow weak and thin.
  15. kana_marie

    kana_marie Community Champion

    I lost 45 pounds during my drug use. I was so skinny that I looked like I was dying of some horrible disease. But I guess I kind of was.
  16. kjonesm1

    kjonesm1 Community Champion

    I was a heavy "experimental" drug user. I have dabbled in a bunch of stuff, but have never been addicted to any one thing (unless you count marijuana). I have always been athletic and very fit. Today I am completely clean and am about 15 pounds over weight. I don't think it has anything to do with my drug use or lack there of, it has something to do with me not working out. I think exercise and healthy eating affect your body and fitness level and heavy drinking and drug use isn't conducive to a healthy lifestyle. I have known serious alcoholics with rock hard abs and tight bodies because even though they drank all day and night they still worked out.
  17. JennyHeart

    JennyHeart Member

    I've seen drug users that are very thin. The drugs probably made them nausea so their body weight would prove to be underweight or sometimes even overweight. It is most common for drug abusers to be underweight.
  18. ABC123

    ABC123 Member

    Interesting correlation and sad too. The understanding that these addictions dull all senses including appetite. Someone mention the young girls who fall victim to it. It stikes fear in me to think of my daughter being faced with the idea image and then peers who offer a way to achieve that image that is not healthy.
  19. Rosyrain

    Rosyrain Community Champion

    Most drugs make you lose weight because they make you lose your appetite, not to mention how sickly you look because of what the drugs do to your skin. Once your skin and teeth are shot, it is almost impossible to look young and healthy again. I think beer can actually make you gain weight because of the ingredients used to make it.
  20. PrideKidd

    PrideKidd Active Contributor

    I like this thread. I really started only using to lose weight but before I knew it I was a what we called a "Meth-Monster" I went from 286 to an even 140 in less than a year, to me I thought I looked amazing! but as I look back on the pictures, my face, eyes, body was all sunk in on itself. When I was a user I would make one pack of ramen noodles last me 2 to 3 days because I knew I had to eat at least something even though I really did not want to.

    Since then I have gained some of it back but for the most part found healthy ways to lose it instead of turn to drugs. I know it is one of my brain's fleeting thoughts of how easy it was, but doing it the hard way is so much more of a reward. Knowing you did it without chemical help is a great feeling. :)