BULIMIA NERVOSA – A REVIEW

Introduction: The term bulimia nervosa describes a food intake disorder which is characterized by episodic binge eating (eating very large amounts of food in a short period of time), followed by the effort of purging all the unnecessary calories usually through vomiting, laxatives, diuretics and excessive exercise. Purpose: The purpose of this review is to present all aspects related to bulimia nervosa and its treatment. Methodology: The material of the study has been recent articles concerning the subject. They have been mainly found via electronic database Medline and the Hellenic academic libraries Link (HEAL-Link). Results: Bulimia nervosa is mainly manifested in women in approximately 90% compared to men. It usually starts during adolescence or early adulthood. About 4% of adolescent women suffer from bulimia nervosa. Approximately 50% of people who had suffered from anorexia nervosa develop bulimia or bulimic behaviors.  It is difficult to define the total number of individuals affected at older ages for bulimic people are usually secretive. Aside from this, this disorder is rare in children.  Conclusions: Early diagnosis and treatment of bulimia increases the rate of successful recuperation. In cases of severe weight loss, hospitalization with a special diet is needed so as to address the medical and nutritional needs of the patient