Eating Disorders: Analyzing Female Bulimics

You analyzed their what?

Summary: Cites research by scientists at the University of Pittsburgh which found that female bulimics retain about 1,200 calories after binging and purging no matter how much food they consume or how often they throw up. Speculation the stomach and bowel may absorb and process food at a fixed rate; Possibility vomiting may be triggered when the body's satiety center signals a certain number of calories have been absorbed by the bloodstream; Other possibilities.

Bulimia Nervosa

Bulimics, take note: It's physically impossible to purge yourself of all the goodies gobbled up during a typical binge session. But, as many bulimics already know, regurgitation seems to be an efficient way of eliminating most bingefest damage. Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh measured the caloric content of vomitus from female bulimics and found that they retain about 1,200 calories after binging and vomiting--no matter how much food they consume or how often they throw up. Explanation: The stomach and bowel may absorb and process food at a fixed rate, limiting the total possible caloric intake, reports Walter H. Kaye, M.D., in the American Journal of Psychiatry (Vol. 150, No. 6). Alternatively, vomiting may be triggered when the body's satiety center signals a certain number of calories have been absorbed by the bloodstream. Yet why do bulimics binge and purge at all? No one knows, says Kaye, but the behavior may be an unconscious attempt to counter lower metabolic rates, common in women with bulimia.

next: Eating Disorders: From Thinness to Godliness
~ eating disorders library
~ all articles on eating disorders