| |
Main Causes of Bulimia
By Thomas Morva
Some people may feel that they are fat, no matter how thin they actually are. Or they may feel guilty when they eat too much food. The guilt and shame from eating makes the person vomit up all their food. These people have bulimia nervosa, or bulimia, an eating disorder. The disorder has nothing to do with the digestive system, but rather with the mind. And though people with bulimia may share the same guilt and shame about food, and the same patterns of bingeing and purging, bulimia has many causes. Doctors have not identified any one cause of bulimia, but do know of several factors that may contribute to developing bulimia.
Bulimia may be caused by a genetic component. Certain genes may predispose a person to developing bulimia. Bulimia appears to run in families—people with relatives suffering from bulimia have a higher frequency of developing bulimia. This may, however, have more to do with family influences and role models than genetics.
Brain chemistry may also cause bulimia. Research indicates that people with bulimia tend to have different levels of a chemical in the brain called serotonin. Altered levels of serotonin may also contribute to clinical depression.
Social pressures may contribute to bulimia's development. People who want to please others may feel compelled to keep thin and fit. Women in particular receive daily messages to be thin. This drive may turn into an eating disorder.
Emotional stress from family problems or being a perfectionist may also contribute to a person developing bulimia.
A person with bulimia will first binge, meaning that he or she will eat more than 1,000 calories in one sitting. Sometimes, to a person with an eating disorder like a bulimia, eating a cookie might constitute a binge. The binge then triggers intense feelings of self-disgust and the person will induce vomiting, exercise excessively, or abuse laxatives to remove the perceived extra weight.
Bulimia is caused by numerous, subtle factors, and all people suffering from bulimia need treatment from a psychiatrist and therapy to break the binge-and-purge cycle. Bulimia is completely treatable.
About the Author
Bulimia Info provides detailed information about the causes, symptoms, and effects of bulimia; bulimia treatment and recovery; the relationship between anorexia and bulimia; and information about the "pro bulimia" viewpoint. Bulimia Info is affiliated with Original Content.
Article Source: http://www.simplysearch4it.com/article/10062.html
| If you wish to add the above article to your website or newsletters then please include the "Article Source: http://www.simplysearch4it.com/article/10062.html" as shown above and make it hyperlinked. |
| Some other articles by Thomas Morva | Bulimia Treatment: Advice and Options
Bulimia is an eating disorder compels people to binge on food and then purge through self-induced vomiting, diuretics or laxative abuse, or ...
The Effects of Bulimia
People with bulimia have an eating disorder that causes them to binge on food and then, usually, throw up the food during binge-and-purge cycles. ...
What are the Symptoms of Bulimia?
Bulimia is an eating disorder. People with bulimia usually have a normal weight, but perceive themselves to be fat. Or they may feel intense guilt ...
The Link Between Anorexia and Bulimia
Young women and men sometimes starve themselves. It doesn't matter how thin they may be— in their internal mirror, they are fat. Or they may so afraid of gaining weight, yet so ...
Understanding Bulimia
When a girl enters puberty, her body changes. It begins to look like a woman's body, rather than a girl's. Fat begins ...
|
|
| |
|
