Bulimia nervosa: a psycologically conditioned abnormality

Bulimia nervosa is a psychologically conditioned abnormality in nutritional behaviour when the subject engages in recurrent uncontrolled binge eating that is followed by certain compensatory actions. Among these actions most often is intentional purging that typically takes the form of vomitting. This is done to compensate for the excessive intake of the food and to prevent weight gain. People who suffer from bulimia nervosa often resort to laxatives, enemas, diuretics or other medication. Because of the fear of weight gain they often do wearisome physical exercise and practise fasting. Bulimia nervosa is also reffered to as addephagia, excessive appetite, cynorexia, bovine hunger, excessive hunger, morbid hunger, hyperorexia, limosis, lycorexia, phagomania, sitomania, hyperphagia or just bulimia.

Most often it is young women aged from 18 to 35 that suffer from bulimia nervosa. Men are subjected to this disease very rarely. Actually women are 90% of patients who suffer from it. Speaking in geographical terms, rates of bulimia nervosa are much more prevalent in western civilizations. Also this eating disorder is much more widespread in the Caucasian race.

The bulimic cycles are quite different. Some may suffer from bulimia nervosa every few months. Others binge and purge several times a day. There's a kind of latent bulimia nervosa when people eat socially but are actually bulimic in private.

Once again, bulimia nervosa is a psychologically conditioned abnormality in nutritional behaviour. It means that it is less about food and more about deep psychological issues and feelings of lack of control. Bulimia nervosa can be severe and can be stopped only when the sufferer is either interrupted by another person or when her/his stomach is full and hurts from over-extension.