In Western countries, between 1 in every 200 and 2 in every 200 young women have bulimia. Men can have bulimia, too, but it's much more common in women. For every man who has the condition, there are around nine or 10 women who have it.

If you have bulimia, you might tell yourself it's not important. But bulimia is serious. It can damage your health.

If you get help, the chances are good that you can get rid of bulimia. And the earlier you get help, the better your chances of making a full recovery.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
National Institute for Clinical Excellence.
Eating disorders: core interventions in the treatment and management of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and related eating disorders.
January 2004. NICE clinical guideline 9. Available at http://www.nice.org.uk/cg009 (accessed on 27 May 2008).

 

 

 

 

 

¹ Admitting you have a problem is the hardest step. It's worth it, though, because there are treatments that can make you feel better and help you eat in a healthy way again.

If you have bulimia, you might also have had another eating disorder called

 

 

 

 

 

anorexia
Anorexia is an eating disorder. People who have anorexia starve themselves because they think they are too fat. They do this even when they are very thin. It is most common among teenage girls. Doctors may call it anorexia nervosa.

 

 

 

 

 

anorexia. People who have anorexia sometimes get bulimia. These two diseases are closely linked. To learn more, see Other eating disorders.

If you eat in a healthy way, you eat when you're hungry and stop when you're full. Most of us tend to eat three meals a day with perhaps a couple of snacks in between.

Eating is also usually a pleasure. When we meet up with family and friends, we often eat together. It's something most people look forward to and enjoy.

If you have bulimia, you worry about food and your body shape far more than most people do. You are horrified by the thought of being fat or getting fat. You think all the time about how you look and how much you weigh.

These feelings lead to irregular, unhealthy eating habits like the ones listed below.

Bulimia is a real illness, not a phase or a fad.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
National Institute of Mental Health.
Eating disorders: facts about eating disorders and the search for solutions.
2001. Available at http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/eatingdisorders.cfm (accessed on 22 January 2006).

 

 

 

 

 

¹⁰ It belongs to a group of illnesses called eating disorders. Bulimia can seriously damage your health. Also, if you have it, you are more likely to get depressed than other people, and you are more likely to drink alcohol heavily.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
American Psychiatric Association.
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV).
4th edition. American Psychiatric Association, Washington DC, USA; 2000.

 

 

 

 

 

¹¹

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Walsh JM, Wheat ME, Freund K.
Detection, evaluation, and treatment of eating disorders the role of the primary care physician.
Journal of General Internal Medicine. 2000; 15: 577-590.

 

 

 

 

 

¹²

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Azzaro AJ, Ward HE.
Drugs used in mood disorders.
In: Craig CR, Stitzel RE (editors). Modern pharmacology with clinical applications. 5th edition. Little, Brown and Co, Boston, USA; 1997.

 

 

 

 

 

¹³

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Grothaus KL.
Eating disorders and adolescents: an overview of a maladaptive behavior.
Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing. 1998; 11: 146-156.

 

 

 

 

 

¹⁴

In one study, most people with bulimia had another problem as well, such as anxiety, mood swings and drug or alcohol problems.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Hudson JI, Hiripi E, Pope HG, et al.
The prevalence and correlates of eating disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication.
Biological Psychiatry. 2007; 61: 348-358.

 

 

 

 

 

¹⁵

It's not easy to tell if someone has bulimia. People with the disease tend to be a normal weight or near a normal weight.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
American Psychiatric Association.
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV).
4th edition. American Psychiatric Association, Washington DC, USA; 2000.

 

 

 

 

 

¹¹ If you're afraid that someone close to you has bulimia, it can be hard to decide what to do. For ideas on how to help, you might want to read Worried someone close to you might have bulimia?

We're not sure what causes bulimia or any eating disorder. There are some ideas, but no evidence for any of them. Below is a list of some things that seem to go along with bulimia. We think that when someone gets bulimia, it's probably because of a combination of these things.

And we know that some people are more likely to get bulimia than others. Doctors call things that make you more likely to get a disease risk factors. See Risk factors for bulimia to learn more.

Almost everyone who has bulimia is terrified of being fat. Fear is an important part of this illness.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
American Psychiatric Association.
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV).
4th edition. American Psychiatric Association, Washington DC, USA; 2000.

 

 

 

 

 

¹¹

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Kerr JK, Skok RL, McLaughlin TF.
Characteristics common to females who exhibit anorexic or bulimic behavior: a review of current literature.
Journal of Clinical Psychology. 1991; 47: 846-853.

 

 

 

 

 

¹⁶

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Orbanic S.
Understanding bulimia: signs, symptoms and the human experience
American Journal of Nursing. 2001; 101: 35-41.

 

 

 

 

 

¹⁷

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Spangler DL.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy for bulimia nervosa: an illustration.
Journal of Clinical Psychology. 1999; 55: 699-713.

 

 

 

 

 

¹⁸

If you have bulimia, you believe that you're fat, and you think other people think so, too. You're not just uncomfortable about putting on weight, you dread it. You imagine food turning to fat as soon as you eat it.

People who are unhappy with their body shape and size are much more likely to get symptoms of bulimia. And even though they know that bingeing and purging is bad for them, they go on doing it.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Stice E.
Risk and maintenance factors for Eating Pathology: A meta-analytic review.
Psychological Bulletin. 2002; 128: 825-848.

 

 

 

 

 

¹⁹

Eating disorders may happen partly because of modern society. Being thin is seen as healthy and attractive in Western countries such as the United States. Some people claim that Western culture puts pressure on people to be thin.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Stice E.
Risk and maintenance factors for Eating Pathology: A meta-analytic review.
Psychological Bulletin. 2002; 128: 825-848.

 

 

 

 

 

¹⁹

But eating disorders are nothing new. They've been around for hundreds of years.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Dawson D.
Anorexia and bulimia: a parents' guide to recognising eating disorders and taking control.
Random House, London, UK; 2002.

 

 

 

 

 

²⁰ These images might play a part in someone getting an eating disorder, but they're usually not the only reason.

Bulimia and its symptoms of binge eating and purging can be connected to painful, difficult emotions.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Pyle RL, Mitchell JE, Eckert ED, et al.
Maintenance treatment and 6-month outcome for bulimic patients who respond to initial treatment.
American Journal of Psychiatry. 1990; 147: 871-875.

 

 

 

 

 

²¹ Bulimia might be a way of coping with these feelings. Here are some of the feelings that can go along with bulimia.

You find it hard to cope with swings in your mood. You might find that bingeing or purging takes your mind off feeling angry, depressed or excited.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Stice E.
Risk and maintenance factors for Eating Pathology: A meta-analytic review.
Psychological Bulletin. 2002; 128: 825-848.

 

 

 

 

 

¹⁹

Your brain contains chemicals called

 

 

 

 

 

neurotransmitters
Neurotransmitters are chemicals that help to carry messages between nerve cells. Serotonin, dopamine and noradrenaline are all neurotransmitters.

 

 

 

 

 

neurotransmitters, including one called

 

 

 

 

 

serotonin
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter, which is a chemical that helps to send information from a nerve cell to other cells. It is thought to play a role in learning, sleep and control of mood.

 

 

 

 

 

serotonin. Serotonin could be involved in bulimia. Serotonin helps control both emotions and appetite. Some scientific studies suggest that people with bulimia don't have the right amount of serotonin.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Brambilla F
Aetiopathogenesis and pathophysiology of bulimia nervosa: biological bases and implications for treatment.
CNS Drugs. 2001; 15: 119-136.

 

 

 

 

 

²³

Bulimia can run in families. This might be because all the people in a family share some of the same

 

 

 

 

 

genes
Your genes are the parts of your cells that contain instructions for how your body works. Genes are housed on chromosomes, structures that sit in the nucleus at the middle of each of your cells. You have 23 pairs of chromosomes in your normal cells, each of which has thousands of genes. You get one set of chromosomes, and all of the genes that are on them, from each of your parents.

 

 

 

 

 

genes. If either of your parents had an eating disorder, you're more likely to get bulimia than other people.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Grothaus KL.
Eating disorders and adolescents: an overview of a maladaptive behavior.
Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing. 1998; 11: 146-156.

 

 

 

 

 

¹⁴

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Brambilla F
Aetiopathogenesis and pathophysiology of bulimia nervosa: biological bases and implications for treatment.
CNS Drugs. 2001; 15: 119-136.

 

 

 

 

 

²³

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Steiger H, Bruce KR
Phenotypes, endophenotypes, and genotypes in bulimia spectrum eating disorders.
Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. Revue Canadienne de Psychiatrie. 2007; 52: 220-227.

 

 

 

 

 

²⁴

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Bulik CM, Tozzi F, et al.
The genetics of bulimia nervosa.
Drugs of Today. 2004; 40: 741-749.

 

 

 

 

 

²⁵

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