What Is It? The main symptom of the eating disorder, bulimia
nervosa, is repetitive binge eating. During a binge, a person
eats large quantities of food in a relatively short time,
regardless of hunger. Binge eating is defined only in part by
food quantity. A more important feature is the person's state of
mind: During a binge, the person with bulimia feels out of
control of the eating and cannot stop it. By definition, bulimia
is divided into a "purging" and "nonpurging" type, depending on
what strategies the individual may use to try to control weight.
Purging is vomiting self-induced immediately after a binge. In
the nonpurging type of bulimia, a person may abuse laxatives,
suppositories, enemas or diuretics, may go on an extended fast
or start a period of strenuous exercise. There is significant
overlap between bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa, since
those with bulimia may restrict food intake (a characteristic of
anorexia) and people with anorexia may binge and purge. In both
disorders, a person may