Adding to this focus on adolescent risky behaviors, other researchers have found an association between disordered eating and alcohol use. In their research, Neumark-Sztainer et al. (1997) found that risk-taking behaviors, including cigarette smoking and alcohol and marijuana use, were associated with disordered eating. Using data from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBS), one group of researchers examined the relationship between fasting, using non-prescribed diet products and purging (i.e., vomiting or using laxatives) and illegal drugs, including alcohol use (Pisetsky, Chao, Dierker, May, & Striegel-Moore, 2008). They found a significant association between disordered eating and binge drinking. Focusing on adolescent females, Striegel-Moore and Huydic (1993) found a modest association between past month disordered eating and problem drinking.
