Bulimia is an extremely serious, potentially life threatening eating disorder where people will binge eat will vomit, purging, or fasting to undo or compensate for how much they ate. Many people who suffer from bulimia will self harm(without suicidal intentions), substance abuse, and Impulsiveness (shoplifting, risky sexual behaviors, etc.).

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A study in 2007 showed that 1.5% of women and .5% of men have had bulimia in their life. Between 1.1% to 4.6% of women and 0.1% to 0.5% of men will develop bulimia within their life. The rate of people with bulimia from the 1980's to the 1990's increased and from then has basically stayed the same. Based upon formal research and clinical reports shows that bulimia is starting earlier in both men and women.

 

Bulimia usually begins from late teens to young adult. People with psychological or emotional issues are more likely to develop an eating disorder. The chances are the number of calories absorbed from a binge even after vomiting is higher than the number that would have been absorbed on a binge-free day. Purging fails to help with weight loss and over time bulimia can actually cause weight gain. 

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There are two main types of bulimia-

• Purging type – This type of bulimia accounts for the majority of cases of those suffering from this eating disorder.  With this individuals will regularly engage in self-induced vomiting or abuse of laxatives, diuretics, or enemas after a period of bingeing.

• Non-Purging type – With this type of bulimia, the individual will use other inappropriate methods of compensation for binge episodes, such as excessive exercising or fasting.  In these cases, the typical forms of purging, such as self-induced vomiting, are not regularly utilized.