Common Names: Bulimia
Bulimia nervosa, commonly known as bulimia, is an eating disorder. It is a psychological condition in which the subject engages in recurrent binge eating followed by intentional purging. This purging is done in order to compensate for the excessive intake of food, usually to prevent weight gain. Purging can take the form of vomiting; inappropriate use of laxatives, enemas, diuretics or other medication; or excessive physical exercise.
History of bulimia nervosa
Bulimia nervosa was first described by Gerald Russell in 1977 while he worked at the Royal Free Hospital, London. Bulimia nervosa has been recognized as an autonomous eating disorder by the American Psychiatric Association since 1980. The word “bulimia” is Latin, getting its roots from the Greek word “boulimia” which directly translates to mean “extreme hunger”.
Causes
Bulimia is often less about food, and more to do with deep psychological issues and profound feelings of lack of control. Binge/purge episodes can be severe, sometimes involving rapid and out of control feeding that can stop when the sufferers "are interrupted by another person" or when their stomach hurts from over-extension. This cycle may be repeated several times a week or, in serious cases, several times a day. Sufferers can often "use the destructive eating pattern to gain control over their lives".
In one study, high testosterone and low estrogen levels were correlated with a diagnosis of bulimia, and normalizing these levels with oral contraceptives reduced cravings for fat and sugar.
Environmental factors
The disorder is more prevalent in Caucasian groups, but is becoming a rising problem in the African American and Hispanic communities. Males are just as prone to having eating disorders as women. There are higher rates of eating disorders in groups involved in activities that put an emphasis on thinness and body type (such as gymnastics, dance and cheerleading, figure skating, and other sports and activities in which a slender body is believed to be most appealing).
Definition
An eating disorder, common especially among young women of normal or nearly normal weight, that is characterized by episodic binge eating and followed by feelings of guilt, depression, and self-condemnation. It is often associated with measures taken to prevent weight gain, such as self-induced vomiting, the use of laxatives, dieting, or fasting.
Text and images are licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. Material is used from the Wikipedia article "Bulimia nervosa".
Other Related Articles
|
|
|
|
|
Conditions 