An Overview of Bulimia Nervosa

.
             To be specific, bulimia nervosa is a binge eating disorder (BED) since those afflicted with the disorder have the habit and tendency to engage in compulsive eating behaviors. They "consume far more calories than necessary for maintaining a healthy body weight" (Thompson, 2008, p. 11). After episodes of binge eating, the bulimic patient would try to purge or vomit the foods they consumed. This behavior is one that identifies an individual suffering from bulimia nervosa along with a self-perception determined mainly by physical appearance, specifically, body weight and size. Willer (2007) also adds, using the guidelines provided for by the American Psychological Association, that to receive the diagnosis, bulimia nervosa, the individual must binge eat and purge "on average at least twice a week for three months" (p. 2). Using the preceding bases, people with bulimia nervosa display compulsive eating followed by the compulsory purging with regular frequency and over an extended period of time. While excessive and uncontrollable eating and vomiting is the distinctive characteristic of bulimia nervosa, other compensatory activities such as laxative abuse also help define the BED. .
             Impact of Bulimia: Medical and Psychological .
             Willer (2007) mentions some of the most common health risks of bulimia nervosa and these are "electrolyte abnormalities, menstrual irregularities, and rare but potentially fatal gastric ruptures and cardiac arrhythmias" (p. 3). The longer and more frequent the bulimic episodes are, the higher the health risks become. Electrolyte abnormalities are the direct result of the self-induced vomiting which the bulimic person is habituated to do. In Thompson's dissertation (2008), she adds that bulimia nervosa can lead to the following health problems: "weight gain, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, stroke, cardiovascular diseases, and some cancers" (p.