Bulimia - One of the Major Eating Disorders!

by Heather Colman

Bulimia is term used commonly for an eating disorder called Bulimia nervosa. It is a psychological condition in which a person engages in recurrent binge eating followed by intentionally doing one or more of the following in order to compensate for the intake of the food and prevent weight gain:

* vomiting

* inappropriate use of laxatives, enemas, diuretics or other medication

* excessive exercising

* fasting

The following six criteria should be met for a person to be diagnosed with bulimia.

1) The person feels incapable of controlling the urge to binge, even during the binge itself, and consumes a larger amount of food than a person would normally consume at one sitting.

2) The person purges him or herself of the recent intake, resorting to vomiting, laxatives, diuretics, exercising, etc.

3) The person engages in such behavior at least twice per week for three months.

4) The person is focused upon body image and desperate desire to appear thin.

5) The person does not meet the diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa. Some anorectics may demonstrate bulimic behaviors in their illness: binge-eating and purging themselves of food on a regular or infrequent basis at certain times during the course of their disease. Alternatively, some individuals might switch from having anorexia to having bulimia. The mortality rate for anorectics who practice bulimic behaviors is twice that of anorectics who do not.)

6) The person is of normal weight or overweight.

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 sometimes repeated several times a week or, in serious cases, several times a day. Sufferers often use the destructive eating pattern to gain control over their lives.

This article is presented for informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as medical advice. Please see the advice of qualified professional if you or someone you know suffers from bulimia.

Permission is granted to reprint this article as long as no changes are made, and the entire resource box is included.

This article is Copyright � 2006, Heather Colman. Find more bulimia resources at bulimia-focus.info.

Article Source: ArticlesOn.com

How to Identify Bulimia Symptoms

Bulimia is a very common eating disorder. It is believed that most statistics do not present a very accurate picture of the true number of bulimia cases. This is mainly because that people who are bulimic do not often realise that they have a problem. Or they may actually be too ashamed to admit that they have an eating disorder and that they need treatment. As such, experts believe that the statisic figures are understated.

Getting a bulimic sufferer to go to the doctor requires the support and help of family and friends. It is therefore of particular important that each of us learn how to spot bulimia symptoms so that we can help the sufferer take the required action.

Bulimia symptoms are characterized by uncontrollable binge eating (overeating) followed by intentional purging through either vomiting, enemas, laxatives, diuretics or several other similar purging methods. Obviously, if you find someone in your midst constantly purging himself after meals, this is a sure sign that he may be suffering from some form of bulimia.

Bulimia symptoms are usually triggered when the sufferer is undergoing stress. Stress can happen because of family issues, things happening at work, developments on the social front or just having a distorted picture of body images. The binge eating that develops, in turn, cause other emotional problems. It is usually the case that many bulimia sufferers feel guilty about what they do. They then fall into a state of depression after each overeating or purging session.

Depression in itself does not necessarily point to bulimia. However, it is an indicative sign for bulimia when you notice that the sufferer becoming moody and down after rushing off to the bathroom to vomit on a regular basis.

Lastly, bulimia sufferers will inevitably change body weight and proportions drastically, over short periods of time. They may even alternate periods of being overweight due to extreme binge overeating with periods of being underweight due to extreme intentional purging. In any case, a radical change in body proportions in a short time is often the effect of an eating disorder, even if it might not be bulimia in particular.

In summary, the four bulimia symptoms namely intentional purging, overeating, radical mood swings and drastic weight changes are good ways to spot for eating disorders. You can help yourself or your loved one in recognising that there truly is a problem and that medical help is needed for treatment. Joining a support group also helps you or the sufferer to share about the experience and to deal with the stress and emotions better.

Source: http://www.articlecircle.com/ - Free Articles Directory

About the Author Eating disorders are becomming a common affliction especially with young women nowadays. For more information and resources,please visit this site http://www.eating-disorder-research.com.