Bulimia, also called bulimia nervosa, is a psychologcial eating disorder which mostly hit girls in the age of 15 to 25 years. Its rare but it happen also to boys. The two most common eating disorders for young people are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Bulimia is characterized by episodes of binge-eating followed by inappropriate methods of weight control (purging). The desire for food and candy is very strong and at the same time the person try to reduce weight. This causes a strong conflict between the desire to eat and the desire to reduce weight. To cope with the conflict they use inappropriate methods of weight control including vomiting, fasting, enemas, excessive use of laxatives and diuretics, or compulsive exercising. A period of binge-eating is produces strong feelings of guilt. For a person with bulimia the self-confidence is strongly depending of the shape and weight of the body. There are similarities between anorexia and bulimia regarding the fear to become fat and the desire to reduce weight. Its not unusual that anorexia turns into bulimia. Just about half of those with anorexia will have bulimia nervosa. The conditions can overlap. The problems often starts in the teenages, you get more and more interested of your weight and that leads to repeated attempts to reduce weight. After some time one has no control over the situation and just to eat gives strong anxiety. Family members often miss the symptons in the first stages. Later on it will be obvious for everyone, except the sick person. Probably there are a number of causes for the bulimia, psycological as well as biological. The cultural conditions with the ideal of females being slim, as it is in many countries, can also affect our view of the body we have. Studies have shown that disorders in family relations can be one of the factors. Difficult periods of time or changes like puberty, death in the family or other family crisis can cause bulimia nervosa. Bulimia nervosa can give severe medical complications. There is a risk for damages that will become permanent. Bulimia can also be the reason why a person will get problems with the teeth. |
