Bulimia nervosa

Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by binge eating and purging or consuming a large amount of food in a short amount of time, followed by an attempt to rid oneself of the food consumed, usually by purging (vomiting) and/or by laxative, diuretics or excessive exercise. Bulimia nervosa is nine times more likely to occur in women than men (Barker 2003). Antidepressants, especially SSRIs, are widely used in the treatment of bulimia nervosa. (Newell and Gournay 2000). The term bulimia comes from Greek βουλιμία (boulīmia; ravenous hunger), a compound of βους (bous), ox + λιμός (līmos), hunger. Bulimia nervosa was named and first described by the British psychiatrist Gerald Russell in 1979. Bulimia is strongly familial. Twin studies estimate the heritability of syndromic bulimia to be 54 to 83%. These cycles often involve rapid and out-of-control eating, which may stop when the bulimic is interrupted by another person or the stomach hurts from overextension, followed by...