Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder and mental health condition.
People who have bulimia try to control their weight by binge eating and then purging the food from their body by being sick or using laxatives.
As with other eating disorders, bulimia is often associated with depression, low self-esteem and stress. Learn more about the causes of bulimia.
Bingeing and purging
Eating disorders are often associated with an abnormal attitude towards food or body image. Everyone has their own eating habits. For example, people with a food intolerance need to avoid eating certain foods to stay healthy. However, people suffering from eating disorders tend to use their eating habits and behaviour to cope with emotional distress and often have an abnormal or unrealistic fear of food, calories and getting fat.
Because of this fear, people with bulimia tend to starve themselves. This results in periods of excessive eating and loss of control (bingeing), before making themselves sick or using laxatives (purging). They purge themselves because they feel guilty and ashamed of their behaviour, and to compensate for the bingeing. This behaviour is usually done in secret.
Such binge-vomit cycles can be triggered by hunger or stress, or are a way to cope with emotional distress.
Warning signs
Signs of bulimia include an obsessive attitude towards food and eating, disappearing soon after eating, and scarred knuckles (from forcing fingers down the throat to bring on vomiting). Read more about the symptoms and warning signs of bulimia.
Who is affected by bulimia?
Women are much more likely to develop bulimia than men. However, bulimia is becoming increasingly more common in boys and men.
Recent studies suggest that as many as 8% of women have bulimia at some stage in their life. The condition can occur at any age, but mainly affects women aged between 16 and 40 (on average, it starts around the age of 18 or 19).
It is estimated that a fifth of the 1.6 million Britons suffering from some form of eating disorder are male.
Bulimia can affect children, but this is extremely rare.
What to do
If you have an eating disorder such as bulimia, the first step is to recognise that you have a problem and visit your GP.
If you think someone you know has bulimia, talk to them and try to persuade them to see their GP.
There are also many support groups and charities you can approach for help (see 'Useful links', above right).
Read about the diagnosis of bulimia.
The first step towards getting better is to recognise the problem and to have a genuine desire to get well. Treatment usually begins with psychological treatments such as cognitive behavioural therapy, aimed to help you re-establish healthy attitudes towards eating. Some people may also benefit from antidepressant medication, as this can help to reduce the urges to binge and vomit.
Read more about the treatment of bulimia.
