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

This thread definitely makes sense to me. Drugs, for the most part, affect weight in a sense of loss. For me, it was more of weight gain. I started going through a cycle of binge eating and feeling horrible about myself after. I didn't really see a problem until I finally looked into the mirror and didn't recognize this person that I had become. I was so unhealthy. I finally got it under control when I quit drinking. Now I am finally able to feel good about myself and eat the way a person is supposed to.

I think it would actually be really helpful if someone started a group for people who have quit drugs and gained a lot of weight because of it. When I quit drugs I doubled my weight and that was one of the things about quitting that bothered me the most and it would've been really helpful to have a group of other people who could relate and we could all work out together. I found that it was really hard for other people to relate because all they saw was that suddenly I was really fat, and they didn't see the struggle I had been through quitting drugs and they didn't understand the struggle I was now having at being obese. It's tough going directly from one health problem to another and I feel like it really isn't talked about enough in the community.

That sounds right, I noticed a lost a lot of weight and started looking generally looking better once I became sober, now I get complements all the time on how great I look and that helps to keep me going everyday

I agree some drugs will make you lose weight but in the wrong way and completely messes your body up

Actually some drugs can cause someone to gain weight very quickly. My fiance has been on prescription drugs for 3 years and went through a stage of becoming very addicted and gaining weight very quickly from it.

I know a lot of drunks who are skinny, but alcohol has had the opposite effect on my weight. Even though I don't eat much at all, the alcohol has caused me to have a huge "beer belly," even though I rarely drink beer. Alcohol is very fattening, and the drunks who are really skinny probably have a fast metabolism.

Substance abuse dramatically alters the diet and in most cases, it leads to irregular eating patterns and empty cals . As a result, previously healthy adolescents and adults may begin to experience significant health problems shortly after the substance abuse begins. further poor eating habits affect our metabolism and it may result in weight loss. moreover the liver has to work more to break down the enzymes which takes alot of toll on the persons health

When I was younger and drinking pretty heavily, the booze used to keep me slim. But as I aged I wasn't so lucky. In fact, the weight-gain was one of the things that really prompted me to stop.

That sounds shallow and vain, but it is true.

Yes it does, beacause I have afew weight, it did work for them and they became addicted to this drugs, so some people do abuse them , in the name of loosing weight but eventualy they find themselves highly addicted to the drugs and do not know how to quit.

I totally agree with what the OP said. Never in my life I've seen any addict to be fat. Now, I think this mainly comes from the habits the addiction causes, which is far less attention to self and way too much attention the the addictive substances. Therefore people forget to care about themselves and start losing weight and getting unhealthy.

It's an interesting topic. I used to eat a lot worse when I drank and actually found I didn't feel full as quickly as I would sober. At the same time though, I didn't really pick up weight. I guess it depends on what you drink (beer vs. vodka, say), what you do when you're drunk (dancing, etc.), and so on. I'm not sure, but I also think alcohol, although it has a caloric value itself, does up your metabolic rate, since your body has to process a poison, requiring a lot of energy. With all these factors combined, I guess it becomes tricky to try anticipate what alcohol will do to your waistline.

I've seen fat drug addicts but it is definitely not a common occurrence, most of the drug addicts I've known/seen are very thin. One thing I've also noticed is when they get treatment they always come out with a few extra pounds on them. Alcoholics on the other hand vary in shapes and sizes. I've seen them both fat and thin.

I have heard before that drugs and alcohol can affect your weight, and in fact in all of the support groups that I have been a member of, I have never noticed anybody looking anything other than painfully skinny and gaunt. It is something that people should be aware of, as weight isn't something that tends to be focussed on when we think about drug abuse. In the long term, being underweight can be just as bad for us as being overweight, but it is ignored to quite a huge extent. This needs to change, and people need to be given much better information in the future.

Alcohol or drugs can always cause health problems. The thing about abuse of anything is that it's bad for you. I know most of the time people aren't taking care of themselves when trying to get high. There's people who would rather get high or drunk instead of eat. There's no doubt that substance abuse will cause health problems.

I think addicts tend to either be too thin or too fat. It is one of the side effects of the disease. It is something that is the hallmark of addiction I think in many cases, especially the thin pock marked face of the meth user, It is pretty obvvious to all what the person's problem is saldy.

I do know that it can make you fat. Too much alcohol can cause you to become overweight and to continue drinking and smoking in such a condition is even more hazardous to your health. Being overweight presents another whole new set of problems that are added to your health.

I've grew up with both parents as drug addicts and they never gotten fat. In fact, my mother got on it to lose weight because she though that she would lose it quick and she did.

I definitely agree. Give an addict some money when he/she is broke and he will not even think about buying food but instead he/she will go to buy more drugs. It is the sad reality of the world we live in.

When I was young before I had kids I only used meth to lose weight. I sometimes shudder at how fast it would come off. I mean I could lose 15 pounds in a week. It was pretty scary if you think about it. Sometimes when I think about how hard I was on my body back then I am amazed I even survived some of the things I put myself through. We are all really luck to be alive to tell our stories if you think about it.

So is this where they get the term " beer belly"?

Anyway I have noticed that sometimes people will either not each much or they will have the "munchies". Either way it's poor dieting.

A person who is on drugs rarely pays attention to their diet. This is why they are prone to losing so much weight while using. I have seen many people who look like shadows of their former selves as a result of using drugs. Goes to prove there is nothing attractive about using anyway, as it is downhill all the way.