Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Bulimia Nervosa

Bulimia Nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by large intake of food followed by "purging." Often, episodes of binging (eating a lot of food in a short amount of time) are accompanied by a feeling of loss of control over what one eats. Purging refers to methods of compensation for the amount of food eaten. Purging can include vomiting, laxative abuse, temporary self-starvation and excessive exercise. Bulimia can cause health problems such as irregular heartbeats, tooth decay and irregular bowel movements. People who are bulimic are not always underweight, and are more often at or just above average weight. Bulimia occurs in both women and men but is more common in women.