Abstract
The literature on bulimia, which has regarded it as a psychiatric entity or as a form of disordered eating, suggests that this behaviour is now widespread among the obese, among those with anorexia nervosa and those of normal weight. While physiological, psychological and sociocultural explanations and forms of treatment have been proposed, a holistic perspective on the context in which it occurs can distinguish bulimia nervosa and bulimarexia from ‘simple’ bulimia.