Who is affected bulimia

Bulimia affects more women than men. Bulimia affects more girls and younger women than older women. On average, women develop bulimia at 18 or But eating disorders are happening more often in older women. Someone with bulimia may be thin, overweight, or have a normal weight. It can be difficult to tell based on a person's weight whether someone has bulimia. This is because binging and purging is most often done in private. However, family or friends may see empty food wrappers in unexpected places or vomit in the home.

People with bulimia often have other mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, or substance abuse. Researchers are not sure exactly what causes bulimia and other eating disorders. Researchers think that eating disorders might happen because of a combination of a person's biology and life events.

This combination includes having specific genes, a person's biology, body image and self-esteem, social experiences, family health history, and sometimes other mental health illnesses. Researchers are also studying unusual activity in the brain, such as changing levels of serotonin or other chemicals, to see how it may affect eating. Learn more about current research on bulimia. Purging through vomiting or taking laxatives can prevent your body from getting the important nutrients it needs from food.

Over time, bulimia can affect your body in the following ways: 5 , 7 , 8. Long-term studies of 20 years or more show that women who had an eating disorder in the past usually reach and maintain a healthy weight after treatment. Your doctor or nurse will ask you questions about your symptoms and medical history. It may be difficult to talk to a doctor or nurse about secret eating, purging, or exercise behaviors. But doctors and nurses want to help you get better.

Being honest about your eating behaviors with a doctor or nurse is a good way to ask for help. Your doctor may do blood or urine tests to rule out other possible causes of your symptoms.

Your doctor may also do other tests to see whether you have any other health problems caused by bulimia. These tests may include kidney function tests or an electrocardiogram ECG or EKG to see if or how repeated binging and purging has affected your health. Your doctor may refer you to a team of doctors, nutritionists, and therapists who will work to help you get better.

Most girls and women do get better with treatment and are able to eat and exercise in healthy ways again. Others get well but may relapse and need treatment again. Repeated purging and binging can make your menstrual cycle irregular your period comes some months but not others or your period may stop for several months. Irregular or missing periods mean you may not ovulate , or release an egg from the ovary, every month.

This can make it difficult to get pregnant. Women who have recovered from bulimia and have normal menstrual cycles have a better chance of getting pregnant and having a safe and healthy pregnancy. If you had an eating disorder in the past, it may take you a little longer to get pregnant about six months to a year compared to women who never had an eating disorder.

Some medicines used to treat bulimia can pass through breastmilk. Certain antidepressants can be used safely during breastfeeding. Talk to your doctor to find out what medicine works best for you. Learn more about medicines and breastfeeding in our Breastfeeding section. For more information about bulimia, call the OWH Helpline at or contact the following organizations:.

Department of Health and Human Services. ET closed on federal holidays. Bulimia nervosa. Bulimia nervosa Bulimia nervosa , often called bulimia, is a type of eating disorder. What is bulimia? Purging may be done by: Making yourself throw up Taking laxatives. Laxatives can include pills or liquids that speed up the movement of food through your body and lead to bowel movements. Women with bulimia usually have self-esteem that is closely linked to their body image. What is the difference between bulimia and other eating disorders?

Not only is it physically demanding, but the effects of bulimia can bring on general weakness and fatigue. A sore throat, stomach pain , or both may be the first obvious physical side effects of bulimia. As the disorder progresses, chronic self-induced vomiting can cause a variety of symptoms in the digestive tract, beginning at the mouth. Over time, the high acid content of vomit can damage teeth and cause enamel erosion, tooth sensitivity, and gum disease.

Puffy cheeks or jaws may be noticed secondary to swollen salivary glands. Putting a finger down your own throat is one of the most common ways people with bulimia induce vomiting. Doing this over and over can cause callouses on the back of your hand in the knuckle area because of your knuckles coming in contact with your incisors.

The acidity scars the skin on your fingers and hands. Another way that some people try to rid the body of excessive calories from food is to use diuretics, diet pills, or laxatives. Overuse of these products can make it difficult to have a bowel movement without using them.

Misdirected use of diuretics may also damage the kidneys. Over-strained bowel movements can also result in hemorrhoids. Frequent purging can cause dehydration.

This leads to weak muscles and extreme fatigue. It can also throw your electrolytes out of balance and put strain on your heart. This can cause an irregular heartbeat arrhythmia , and in some severe cases, a weakened heart muscle and heart failure. The electrolytes that tend to go missing from constant vomiting are potassium, magnesium, and sodium. Bulimia can cause low blood pressure , a weak pulse , and anemia. Vomiting can be a violent event.

The sheer force of it can even cause the blood vessels in your eyes to rupture. The nutritional deficiencies people with bulimia experience can cause a hormonal imbalance. The fatigue can kill your sex drive. In fact, one in every four children diagnosed with anorexia nervosa is a boy. Bulimia nervosa is diagnosed more often in females, but similar numbers of males and females are diagnosed with binge-eating disorder.

Males also have some specific risk factors, including:. They have many of the same signs and symptoms, and, like girls and women, they may have a distorted body image. Men and boys might be more reluctant to talk about their symptoms. They may be less likely to admit they have a problem. They are often afraid that others will see them as less masculine. They may worry that others will think they are homosexual because of the untrue stereotypes about eating disorders.

These fears may make it harder for some boys and men to get the help they need. The information we get about eating disorders from television, magazines or our friends is often not true. For example, many people believe that only teenage girls and women have eating disorders. Others wrongly think disordered eating is a choice rather than an illness. It looks like you're using an old version of Internet Explorer.