YOUNG women are using the powerful street drug ice as a dangerous way to lose weight, with three admitted to at least one Sydney eating disorder clinic.
The terrifying new trend has been highlighted in the current issue of the International Journal of Eating Disorders.
Sydney University professor Suzanne Abraham, one of the report authors, warned that the women risked not only developing an eating disorder but also addiction to the destructive drug.
Professor Abraham said ice, or crystal methamphetamine, was like a supercharged version of the ordinary weight loss pill, which contains ephedrine, but people did not get addicted to the ordinary pills.
"Ice use is increasing in young women and is being used as an efficient method of weight loss," she said. "The drug may also trigger the development of an eating disorder in some people."
Clinicians and Sydney University researchers believe they are the first in the world to identify the latest use of the drug, which leads to brain damage, skin problems, rotting teeth and psychotic behaviour.
"We need people to be more aware of this happening and health professionals need to be able to treat the percentage of people who have both drug and eating disorder problems," Professor Abraham said.
The latest Australian Institute of Health and Welfare figures show that in 2004, 3.2 per cent of Australians aged 14 and older had used amphetamines for non-medical purposes in the past year and 38 per cent of this group reported the drug they used as ice.
All three women admitted to the clinic had used ice daily and showed a range of withdrawal symptoms, tolerance and dependence.
One of them, aged 21, refused to leave her house, smoking ice and exercising excessively. She weighed 37kg at her lightest and her boyfriend arranged her treatment because of her "physical dilapidation" and mental state, the study said.
Another, aged 18, began binge drinking, vomiting and using laxatives when her weight increased when she stopped using ice. Then she found out she was pregnant and had a traumatic late abortion.
The third woman, aged 20, suffered osteoporosis and anorexia.
The authors of the report said they believed special facilities were needed to deal with such cases.
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