Overview of Bulimia

Throughout history, women have proved their intellectual strength. Whether it be gaining the right to vote and breaking the gender barrier from 1848-1920, or standing-up against racial injustice, women have been some of the most influential people. However, even after all this, women still have an increased desire to be thin because it is deemed “prettier” and “more desirable.” 40% of normal weight adolescent females regard themselves as “fat” and aspire to a thinner body, but “do not have time to watch what they eat or exercise” (Wade, Keski-Rahkonen, & Hudson, 2011). It appears that the pursuit of thinness may have emerged as a way through which women could compete amongst themselves and demonstrate self-control. Yet, in turning to inappropriate compensatory behaviors to lose weight, women only harm their bodies, and instead of showing a pronounced change to a woman’s physical appearance, her bulimic habits damage her body one organ system at a time. This is the truth behind her silhouette.
As an eating disorder, bulimia nervosa is classified as an abnormal psychological disorder. Often times, those who suffer from bulimia will try to conceal their symptoms because they are ashamed of their eating behaviors. The third Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-III) states that there are three essential features of bulimia nervosa: recurrent episodes of binge eating, recurrent inappropriate compensatory behaviors to prevent weight gain, and self-evaluation that is unduly influenced by body shape and weight (American Psychiatric Association, 1980). However, bulimia nervosa is one of the most misdiagnosed eating disorders because bulimics do not always show physical symptoms, such as significant weight loss like anorexics do. To quali...

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